New Delhi: Delhi Police have moved the High Court seeking expunging of adverse remarks made against them by the trial court for not probing the sexual exploitation angle in former airhostess suicide case in which former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda is the main accused.
Justice G P Mittal today issued notices and sought responses by July 9 from Kanda and his employee Aruna Chadha who are facing trial in the case.
The application filed by police objected to the trial court’s remark dubbing the probe as “tainted and stinking”.
The remarks were made by the trial court in its May 10 order on framing of charges against them.
Delhi Police sought expunging of the adverse observations saying they were made “without notice to investigators”.
Appearing for police, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Siddharth Luthra submitted before the court that “further investigation into the sexual exploitation aspect has not been stopped.”
He said the trial judge should have directed the prosecution for production of additional evidence in this regard if it found lack of evidence at this stage.
The counsel argued the trial court does not have the jurisdiction to make such remarks and should have passed the order framing charges against the accused on the basis of the evidence placed on record.
The former air hostess, who was earlier employed with Kanda’s MLDR airlines, was found dead on August 5 last year at her Ashok Vihar residence in North West Delhi. In her August 4 suicide note, she had said she was ending her life due to “harassment” by Kanda, 46, and Chadha, 40.
Kanda was forced to resign as Minister of State for Home following the registration of the case.
While framing charges against the accused, the trial court had said “it appears that taking a cue from the victim’s postmortem report dated August 6, 2012 the investigation progressed towards ascertaining sexual exploitation of the deceased. The disclosure statement of accused Aruna Chadha was recorded on August 10, 2012. The statement of the doctor (gynaecologist) was also recorded on August 12, 2012.
“Thereafter, it appears that for reasons best known to the investigating agency, further investigation in this direction has not been conducted to collect further evidence,” the court had also said.
The trial court framed charges of abetting rape and suicide of the 23-year-old victim against Kanda’s employee of MDLR company, Chadha.
The court also framed charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery under IPC and Information Technology Act relating to hacking of computer and sending offensive or false messages on Kanda and Chadha.
