Court orders framing of charges against Somnath Bharti for assaulting African woman

A Delhi court Wednesday ordered framing of charges against former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti for allegedly leading a mob that assaulted an African woman here in 2014.

The court ordered putting Bharti on trial after finding enough prima facie material against him for allegedly assaulting Mukoko Misa Tresar, a citizen of Democratic Republic of Kongo, who was then studying at Amity University, Noida.

According to the police, on September 26, 2014 Tresar was assaulted by a mob led by the accused.

"Let a notice...be framed against the accused Somnath Bharti for causing simple hurt to complainant Mukoko Misa Tresar in prosecution of the common object of that assembly of which he was part of and leading, for rioting and for abetment by instigation," the court said.

The charges (notice in a complaint case) were framed under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 147 (punishment for rioting), read with section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and under section 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court also said that since there was lack of requisite sanction from the concerned authorities, the cognizance of offence under section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.) of IPC was not taken.

Advocate Vijay Agarwal, appearing for the accused, denied all the allegations made against him.