New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Congress ex-councillor Ishrat Jahan, challenging an order of the trial court granting more time to the Delhi Police to file a chargesheet against her in a case related to the Delhi riots, after finding “no merits” in the plea.
“Accordingly, finding no merit in the present petition, the same is accordingly, dismissed with no order as to costs. The trial court shall not get influenced by the observations made by this Court while passing the order,” said a single judge bench of the high court presided by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait.
The bench while passing the order observed that there was “no illegality or perversity” in the order passed by the trial court.
“I am of the view that Public Prosecutor had moved an application, for extension of time to file chargesheet, after going through the whole matrix of the case and after satisfying himself as per the law. Learned Judge also after going through the facts and circumstances and mandate of provisions of law of the Act mentioned above and after recording his satisfaction had passed impugned order,” the order said.
On July 20, the high court had reserved its order on the petition filed by Ishrat Jahan challenging a trial court order that granted an extension of 60 days to the Crime Branch for filing a chargesheet in the case against her in connection with the riots that broke out in the national capital in February this year.
During the course of hearing, Delhi government’s senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi Police, had stated that the investigators have “enough” material evidence to show that the extension of 90 days given by the court was correct in law.
“Material speaks out loud that the extension is given rightly and in accordance with the law,” Mehra had said. He had also opposed the contention of the counsel of the petitioner that the extension was given “without the application of mind” by the trial court.
Jahan through her counsels advocate Manu Sharma and advocate Arjun has knocked the doors of the high court against the June 15 order of the trial court by which it had given an extension of two months to the Crime Branch to file a chargesheet in the case against her.
“The same is against the democratic and fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India. And the order deserves to be set aside on this ground alone. Speedy and fair investigation are fundamental tenets of the criminal justice system,” the plea said.
The plea also said that the order is based on surmises and conjectures and dehorns the settled principle of law. Jahan also told the court that the said order is “erroneous, bad in law and wrong on facts.”
“It is pertinent to mention that none of the reasons for seeking extension of time for filing chargesheet or extension of detention for petitioner/accused Ishrat Jahan were meaningful or sufficient to satisfy the grant of extension of the same further failing onto the second limb of section 43(D)(2)(b) of UAPA which speaks about specific reasons that are to be stated for extension of the detention,” the petition read.
