Geetika suicide: HC summons records, asks police to reply

Court had invoked some other harsher penal provisions relating to rape, unnatural sex and their abetment, against former Haryana Home Minister Gopal Kanda

The Delhi High Court today summoned the trial court records and asked the city police to respond to a plea of co-accused Aruna Chadha seeking quashing of fresh charges, including abetment of rape, against her in former airhosetess Geetika Sharma suicide case.

Besides the charge of abetment of suicide, the lower court had recently invoked some other harsher penal provisions relating to rape, unnatural sex and their abetment, against former Haryana Home Minister Gopal Kanda and Chadha.

Justice G P Mittal issued a notice to Delhi police and summoned the judicial records.

"Issue notice. The trial court records are being summoned. Fix it for hearing on May 29," the court said.

During the hearing, Additonal Solicitor General (ASG) Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Delhi police, opposed the plea of senior advocate U U Lalit, the counsel for Chadha, that the trial be stayed.

"Even summoning of trial court records will lead to stopping of trial. I suggest that let the trial court record the evidence of formal witnesses," the ASG said. The plea was rejected by the court.

The ASG also tried to justify certain parts of the lower court order on framing of charges, saying "the trial court was well within its rights to infer certain fresh offences from the materials available before it."

Earlier, the counsel for Chadha said fresh charges have wrongly been invoked and grave prejudice will be caused if the trial is not stayed.

Geetika, a former air hostess, who was earlier employed with Kanda's MDLR airlines, was found dead on August 5 at her Ashok Vihar residence in North West Delhi. In her August 4 suicide note, she had said she was ending her life due to "harassment" by Kanda and Chadha.