HC allows Farooqui's childhood friend to be re-examined

Delhi High Court today allowed a prosection witness to be re-examined before the trial court in the case in which an American researcher was allegedly raped by film maker Mahmood Farooqui.
A bench of Justice S P Garg allowed the plea moved by the US national seeking re-examination of crucial witness Ashish, a childhood friend of Farooqui, in the case.
Appearing for the victim, advocate Vrinda Grover argued that some new facts have been introduced which were going against the case of the prosecution, for which Ashish needed to be re-examined.
The court fixed February 22 for re-examination of Ashish before the trial court.

On October 8 last year, Ashish had recorded his statement before the trial court and claimed he had reached the accused's house on the night of alleged incident around 8.30 pm and the complainant had arrived sometime later.
Ashish had said that after some time when the researcher said she wanted to leave, Farooqui had booked a cab in which she had left.

Farooqui, who is out on bail, had denied all allegations against him. The final arguments in the case have been concluded.
The woman, in her complaint, had alleged that Farooqui was drunk when he had raped her at his house when she had gone to meet him to get help for her research work.

On September 9, 2015 the court had started the trial in the case after framing charges of rape under section 376 (rape) of IPC against Farooqui.
The police had on June 19 last year lodged the FIR against Farooqui on the woman's complaint after which the co-director of the film, 'Peepli Live', was arrested.
On June 29, a charge sheet was filed against Farooqui alleging that he had raped the 30-year-old research scholar from Colombia University at his Sukhdev Vihar house in south Delhi on March 28 last year.