Page 14 - Delhi Court

We don't keep people behind bars unnecessarily: SC on 2020 Delhi riots

"We don't believe in unnecessarily keeping people behind the bars," the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday while hearing the pleas filed by the Delhi Police against the bail granted to three student activists in a case of the 2020 North East Delhi riots. A bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said spending hours hearing the bail petitions in the case was a "complete wastage" of time of the Delhi High Court. The bench, also comprising Justices A S Oka and J B Pardiwala, was hearing the pleas filed by the police challenging the Delhi High Court's June 15, 2021 verdicts granting bail to activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the case related to communal violence during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). At the outset, advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for police, requested the bench to post the petitions for hearing after two weeks, saying Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is leading him, is arguing before a Constitution bench in a separate

Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case: Delhi court grants bail to Ashutosh Bhardwaj

A local court here on Tuesday granted bail to Ashutosh Bhardwaj, an accused in the Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case.

HC pulls up Delhi govt, seeks fresh rpt vacant posts of public prosecutors

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Delhi Government over the delay in filling up vacant posts of public prosecutors in Districts Court

Air India peeing incident: Accused claims he did not urinate on woman

In a surprise U-turn, Shankar Mishra, the man accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger on an Air India flight, told a Delhi court on Friday he did not commit the offensive act. The claim by his lawyer, made for the first time since the sordid event unfolded on an Air India New York-New Delhi flight on November 26 last year, flies in the face of denunciation of the accused by some of the co-passengers and even a string of WhatsApp exchanges he had with the victim woman which suggested the unsavoury incident indeed took place. The counsel for the accused made the submission before Additional Sessions Judge Harjyot Singh Bhalla while arguing against a Delhi police petition seeking revision of an order passed by a magisterial court denying police his custodial interrogation. The judge disposed of the application, saying the submissions made before him did not seem to have been made in front of the Metropolitan Magistrate. He said police can approach the magisterial court wi

AI urination case: Delhi court denies bail to offender Shankar Mishra

A Delhi court on Wednesday denied bail to Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger on an Air India flight

Didn't intend to outrage complainant's modesty, accused man in Delhi court

Shankar Mishra, the man accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger on an Air India flight, told a Delhi court on Wednesday his act was not driven by sexual desire nor aimed at outraging the complainant's modesty, as he sought bail in the case. The complainant's counsel opposed Mishra's bail application, claiming she was being threatened. I'm regularly receiving messages, threatening me. Accused's father sent me a message and said 'karma will hit you' and then deleted the message. They're sending me messages and deleting it. This needs to stop... Air India instead of separating the accused and complainant, tried to mediate the crime, the counsel said. Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg reserved the order on the bail application of Mishra. Nobody should have to go through something like that. It was revolting. I feel bad for the poor lady. It was appalling However, was the unzipping aimed at sexual desire? No. Was any of this act aimed at outraging her modesty? No, the ...

Delhi court reserves order on bail plea of accused urinating midair

A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved its order on the bail application of Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger on an Air India flight. Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg reserved the order on the plea, which said the act was not driven by sexual desire and that it was not aimed at outraging the complainant's modesty. Another magisterial court had sent Mishra to 14-day judicial remand on Saturday, denying police his custody. The incident took place in the business class of the Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 last year.

Delhi murder: Court extends Poonawala's judicial custody for 2 weeks

A court here on Tuesday extended for 14 days the judicial custody of Aaftab Amin Poonawala, accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and dismembering her body. Poonawala was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Aviral Shukla in the court lockup. The judge extended his judicial custody for 14 days. Meanwhile, police informed the court that Poonawala's debit and credit cards were seized as part of the ongoing investigation and would be released after filing the charge sheet, Poonawala's counsel M S Khan said. Earlier on January 6, Khan had moved an application for releasing the debit and credit cards of the accused and said Poonawala was facing harsh winter inside the prison without adequate warm clothes. On Tuesday, the judge directed the prison authorities concerned to provide Poonawala with warm clothes, Khan said. Poonawala informed the court that he had given a written application to prison authorities to provide him with books on the Indian Penal Code (IPC) a

Delhi excise case: Court to hear Pernod Ricard exec's bail plea on Jan 19

A Delhi court will hear on January 19 the bail application of liquor giant Pernod Ricard's executive, Benoy Babu, arrested in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam also involving Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Special Judge M K Nagpal, who was scheduled to hear the arguments on Babu's bail application on Monday, adjourned the matter on pleas made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as well as the advocate appearing for the accused. In its order, the judge also noted that the prosecution complaint (ED's equivalent to a charge sheet) against Babu, as well as against some other co-accused, had been filed before the court and the court was yet to take cognisance of the documents. ED is investigation the alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped liquor policy of the Delhi government. Bail application of the accused is fixed for arguments today. However, prosecution complaint qua him, as well as against some other co-accused, stands filed before

Air India urination case: Delhi Court sends accused to 14-day custody

Mishra had allegedly urinated on a 70-year-old woman in an intoxicated condition in business class of an Air India flight on November 26 last year

Delhi excise policy case: Court grants interim bail to five accused

Special Judge M.K. Nagpal granted bail to them on Rs 50,000 personal bail bond and Rs one lakh amount surety

Don't talk to media during interim bail: Delhi court tells Umar Khalid

A court here has directed activist and former JNU student Umar Khalid, an accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, to not talk to media or give interviews while granting him interim bail to attend the marriage of his sister. While ordering Khalid's release on bail for a week on Monday to attend the marriage related functions of his sister, the court imposed several conditions. Khalid had moved an application seeking interim bail for two weeks from December 20 to January 3.. ....in view of the marriage of the real younger sister of the accused, this court is inclined to grant interim bail for attending the marriage-related functions. Regarding apprehensions of prosecution, those can be taken care of by attaching conditions in the bail, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said in the order which was accessed on Tuesday. Noting that marriage-related functions were to be held from December 26 to 28, the judge said the court in its discretion was exercising its latitude and found

2020 Delhi riots: Court acquits two of rioting, arson and dacoity charges

A court here on Friday acquitted two people of the charges of rioting, arson and dacoity in a case of the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots. The court was hearing the case registered on the complaint of Saleem Khan accusing the two of being part of a riotous mob that committed robbery and set ablaze his two shopsa salon and automobile spare parts storein Sadatpur village on February 24, 2020. I find that charges levelled against both the accused persons are not proved beyond reasonable doubt. Hence, accused Mahender and Dharmender are acquitted of all the charges levelled against them in this case, Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said. The court said the identification of the accused persons in the present case was doubtful". Pointing out the inconsistencies in the evidence, the court said the complainant had contradicted the investigating officer's (IOs) claim of having identified both the accused. Also, despite reference being made by an on-duty constable, no vid

Delhi court orders framing of corruption charges against Swati Maliwal

A court here on Thursday ordered framing of corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal and others for "prima facie" abusing their official positions to appoint AAP workers to different posts in the women's rights body. The court also ordered that former Delhi Commission for Women members Promila Gupta, Sarika Chaudhary and Farheen Malick be put on trial. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh said the perusal of minutes of the meetings held on various dates by the DCW, of which all four accused were signatories, were "enough to prima facie point to a strong suspicion that the appointments in question were made by the accused persons in agreement with each other". "After all, none of the three accused besides AI (Maliwal) ever objected to or gave a dissenting note to the illegal appointments. Rather the decisions were claimed to have been arrived at unanimously in those meetings," the judge said. He said in the case, "the circumstances prima facie strong

Qutub row: Court to pass order on review of application on Dec 12

A court here will on December 12 pass an order on the review plea to its earlier order dismissing an intervention application on the Qutub Minar row. The intervention application, filed in an appeal seeking the restoration of Hindu and Jain deities in an alleged temple complex inside Qutub Minar, was dismissed by the court on September 20. The applicant, Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh said he was a necessary party to the appeal. "Arguments on the application of review heard. Be listed for order/clarification, if any, on December 12, 2022, Additional District Judge Dinesh Kumar said in an order passed on Thursday. The intervention application claimed Singh was an heir of the erstwhile ruler of the 'United Province of Agra' and the owner of land parcels in several cities in and around Delhi, including the property of Qutub Minar. Against the order which dismissed the plea on the ground of it being "without merits", counsel for Singh had filed the present review application.

Jain was given preferential treatment inside Tihar, rightly stopped: Court

A Delhi court on Saturday said AAP minister Satyendar Jain was prime facie being given "preferential treatment" inside Tihar jail in violation of rules, which has now been stopped. Special judge Vikas Dhull made the observation while dismissing Jain's plea, which sought direction to Tihar officials to provide him special food items according to his religious beliefs. The court noted that fruits and vegetables were being provided to Jain by the jail staff, without there being any order of DG Prison or any authority, which was in violation of the rules. "Providing fruits and vegetables to the applicant was in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India as State is bound to treat all the prisoners equally and there can be no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, sex, religion, status etc. "The Article provides for Equality before Law, which basically means that all persons should be treated equally no matter whether they are poor or rich, male or female, upper caste or

Delhi court dismisses Satyendar Jain's plea seeking special food items

A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed a plea by jailed AAP minister Satyendar Jain seeking direction to Tihar officials to provide him special food items according to his religious beliefs. Special judge Vikas Dhull dismissed the application noting the jail administration's submission that no special facility is provided to any prisoner and Jain was allowed to avail all facilities under law, like other inmates. The application had also sought a direction to the prison officials to immediately conduct the minister's medical check-up. It had alleged that Jain was not being provided basic food and medical facilities inside the prison. The jail administration, however, had opposed the application, saying Jain was allowed to avail all facilities under law, like other prisoners. Jain was arrested in a money laundering case based on a CBI FIR lodged against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court had on November 17 refused bail to Jain and two others in the case. He

Mehrauli murder: Delhi Police to produce accused before court virtually

A Delhi court on Thursday allowed police's application to produce Mehrauli killing accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala before a court through video conferencing. Metropolitan Magistrate Aviral Shukla said according to the application submitted by police, the accused faced threat from miscreants and religious groups. "I am aware of the sensitivity of the matter, media coverage...Public traction...," the judge said while allowing the application. Poonawala will be produced before the court through video conferencing at 4 pm. Twenty-eight-year-old Poonawala allegedly strangled Shradha Walkar and sawed her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight. Police said the couple used to have frequent arguments over financial issues and it is suspected that there was also a fight between them that resulted in Poonawala killing 27-year-old Walkar on the .

Delhi court grants bail to Jacqueline Fernandez in money laundering case

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to actor Jacqueline Fernandez in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. Special Judge Shailendra Malik granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of like amount. The judge had on August 31 taken cognizance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate and asked Fernandez to appear before the court. Fernandez, who was summoned by the ED several times in connection with the investigation, was named as an accused for the first time in the supplementary charge sheet. The ED's earlier charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet did not mention her as an accused. The documents, however, had mentioned the details of the statements recorded by Fernandez and fellow actor Nora Fatehi.

Delhi court defers order on Jacqueline Fernandez's bail plea in PMLA case

The court has also extended the interim bail granted to Jacqueline till Tuesday