Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 9, 2022, at 17:18 IST
In an alleged assault case against former Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in 2018, a Special Court in Delhi upheld their release.
“There is no infirmity, illegality or perversity or impropriety in the order passed by the trial court and the same has been passed after considering the material on record including the statements of witnesses,” the Court held.
The Court stated that “established law” dictated that at the time of charge drafting, the court must only consider whether there was a strong suspicion of the accused committing an offence, rather than whether the evidence on file would lead to a conviction.
“At the stage of framing of charge, the court is required to evaluate the material and documents only to the extent and with a view to finding out if the facts taken on their face value disclosed the existence of a prima facie case,” it added.
The Delhi police had charged Kejriwal, Sisodia and others under Sections 186, 323, 332, 342, 353, 504, 506(ii), 120B, 109, 114, 149, 34 and 36 of the Indian Penal Code.
Prakash filed a lawsuit in Session Court to overturn this decision.
He claimed that the Trial Court erroneously freed 11 defendants from all accusations, while only charging Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal with specific offences.
The prosecution claimed that Prakash’s alleged assault was a “unfortunate and disgraceful” episode in which a senior officer was illegally intimidated and assaulted.
Judge Geetanjali Goel, on the other hand, found that the petitioner had presented no grounds for interfering with the judgement.
“The revision petition is accordingly without merits and the same is dismissed,” the order said.
