Midnight raid: Court dismisses Bharti's plea for further probe

A Delhi court today dismissed the plea of controversial AAP MLA Somnath Bharti seeking further probe in the case of alleged molestation of some African women during his purported midnight raid last year.

Additional Sessions Judge Bhupesh Kumar dismissed Bharti's revision plea, filed after a magisterial court had dismissed his similar application for further probe in the case.

Earlier, during the hearing, on the matter, the Delhi Police had questioned the maintainability of Bharti's plea saying cognizance of the charge sheet filed against him has not been taken yet by the magistrate.

The police, through special public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava had also informed the court that necessary prosecution sanction against Bharti in the case has been accorded by the competent authority.

Besides this plea, Bharti has filed another revision petition before a sessions court against the dismissal of his application seeking lodging of FIR against police personnel, hearing of which has already been deferred.

On November 10 last year, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had dismissed Bharti's plea for lodging of an FIR against unnamed police personnel for allegedly implicating him in the case saying "without sanction of central or state government, no cognizance of offence can be taken".

In his plea, Bharti had alleged that police has suppressed crucial facts, statements of several witnesses and a video recording, which were not taken into account when the charge sheet against him was filed.

Delhi Police had filed a final report against Bharti and 17 other accused and chargesheeted them for various offences under the IPC, including sections 354 (outraging women's modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting).

The police had arrayed more than 40 persons as witnesses in the case, including nine Ugandan women who were allegedly beaten up and molested by the mob led by Bharti on intervening night of January 15-16 last year.

The FIR was lodged on January 19 last year on the court's direction after an Ugandan woman had approached it seeking a direction to police to file a criminal case against unnamed persons.