Special Judge V.V. Borikar on Tuesday rejected the temporary bail application of Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) MLA Anil Gote, who has been arrested in connection with the multi-crore fake stamp paper case, for attending the ongoing Assembly session in Mumbai.The court said a temporary bail could not be granted to Gote as the main accused Abdul Karim Telgi was still in the custody of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which was investigating the case. CBI counsel Raja Thakre said in his argument that the recorded conversation between Telgi and Gote proved a direct connection between the two.Gote had argued that his Assembly membership would be cancelled if he did not attend the Assembly. The court also pointed out that Gote had not even applied for permission of leave to the Speaker. It also recalled that earlier he had been denied bail by the High Court on technical grounds.Thakre also argued that Gote was arrested in June last year and was absent for only 21 days in the Assembly as against the permissible limit of 60 days.Gote’s counsel argued it was the constitutional right of his client to be present in the Assembly during the session. He pointed out that PMK leader Vaiko, who was arrested under POTA, and Pappu Kalani, arrested under TADA, were granted permission to attend Assembly sessions.
