The Hindu : 'Custodial interrogation of Sharma necessary'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 10, 2002

National

National

'Custodial interrogation of Sharma necessary'

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI SEPT. 9. The Delhi High Court today dismissed an anticipatory bail application by R.K. Sharma, prime accused in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.

Dismissing the application, Justice M.A. Khan said custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary to tie up the loose ends of the case to make a complete chain of the conspiracy to kill Shivani.

Mr. Sharma might now prefer to surrender to a court. His counsel, D.C. Mathur, gave a strong indication of this when he sought protection for his client to allow him to surrender before a court here.

However, Mr. Justice Khan rejected his plea, saying that his desire to submit to law required no judicial order and that the he was free to surrender before any court.

Citing the grounds for rejecting Mr. Sharma's application, Mr. Justice Khan focused on the conduct of the accused, particularly after the arrest of Shri Bhagwan Sharma and Satya Prakash and their disclosure statements. "The conduct of the petitioner becomes material,'' the Judge observed.

The accused could not come up for cooperation in the investigation even after his suspension by the Haryana Government and issuance of NBW by Delhi court.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National