Court seeks clarification on prosecutor in Bharti case

A court here has ordered an additional public prosecutor to seek clarification regarding his appearance in a case lodged against former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti, court sources said on Wednesday.

The court has also listed the case for April 14 for consideration of the charge sheet.

Metropolitan Magistrate Bhavna Kalia directed additional public prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava to seek clarification from authorities concerned with regard to his appearance after lawyer Kamna Vohra submitted a copy of an official notification that she had been appointed the special public prosecutor in the case, the sources told IANS.

Srivastava, appearing in the case for the last one year, however, told the court that he had not received any notice regarding the appointment of the special public prosecutor in the case.

In its March 31 order, the court said: "It is submitted by Kamna Vohra that she has been appointed as the special public prosecutor for the state in the present matter. It is submitted by Atul Kumar Srivastava that he has no notice of the same."

"Since the copy of the notification has been filed today (March 31), Atul Kumar Srivastava is directed to get clarification with regard to his appearance as he has been appearing for the last one year, as stated by him," the court said.

Following court directions, Delhi Police lodged a first information report on January 19, 2014, against "unidentified accused" on charges dealing with wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

The former minister had visited a house in Khirki Extension in South Delhi after complaints regarding an alleged prostitution and drug racket in the area.

Bharti and others were charge-sheeted on September 29, 2014, under the Indian Penal Code provisions, including those pertaining to outraging the modesty of women.

In the charge sheet containing over 100 pages, police have cited around 41 prosecution witnesses, including nine African women.