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Midnight Raid:Court asks IO,DCP to get sanction against AAP's Somnath Bharti

A Delhi court today issued notice to DCP and gave last chance to the investigating officer (IO) to get prosecution sanction against AAP leader Somnath Bharti in the case of alleged molestation of African women during his midnight raid here last year.

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A Delhi court today issued notice to DCP and gave last chance to the investigating officer (IO) to get prosecution sanction against AAP leader Somnath Bharti in the case of alleged molestation of African women during his midnight raid here last year.
 

Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Ankita Lal posted the matter for hearing on March 27 after Delhi Police's IO informed the court that sanction to prosecute Bharti is still awaited from the competent authority.
 

"I have perused the records. IO has moved an application seeking time to get prosecution sanction of proposed accused (Bharti) under provisions of law from competent authority. In the interest of justice one last opportunity is given to get sanction by next date of hearing. Notice to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) concerned to expedite process in seeking the sanction," the magistrate said.
 

On being asked by the court about compliance of its last order of filing a reply on Bharti's plea for further probe in the case, IO Vijay Chandel requested for some time.
 

"IO seeks time to file a reply on plea of accused under section 173 (8) (further probe) of CrPC. One week time is granted to IO to file a reply," the court said.
 

During the brief hearing, Bharti, who appeared in person, contended that he is moving an application for contempt of court as IO has not filed its reply on his plea for further probe within one month time granted by the court.
 

To this the magistrate asked Bharti, "What is your locus standi in the case at this stage. Charge sheet has not been taken into consideration yet. You have not been summoned yet."

Bharti submitted that he has locus standi in the case as it was his plea on which a court had ordered further probe with report to be submitted in one month's time.

"Since the proposed accused has not been summoned, he has no locus standi to move any application in the case at this stage. The application will be considered after cognizance of the chargesheet is taken until then his application is kept in abeyance," the magistrate said in her order.

The court, however, said that Bharti is at liberty to move his contempt plea before High Court in accordance with law.

Earlier, on November 13 last year, the court had directed the IO to appear before it with a reply on Bharti's plea for further probe in the case. 

On October 27, when the magisterial court was scheduled to hear arguments on the point of consideration of charge sheet, Bharti had moved a plea for further probe in the case alleging that he was falsely implicated in the matter.

The court had, thereafter, asked the DCP and the station house officer of Malviya Nagar Police Station to respond to Bharti's plea within a month.

In its charge sheet filed on September 27 last year, Delhi Police had said that "nine African women were victims of molestation and manhandling by a mob led by the then Law Minister Somnath Bharti".

In the charge sheet, Bharti and 17 others have been booked under various sections of the IPC, including 354 (outraging women's modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting).

The police arrayed 41 people as prosecution witnesses in the case, including nine Ugandan women who were allegedly beaten up and molested by the mob led by Bharti on the intervening night of January 15-16, 2014.

In its charge sheet, police had said forensic reports of the victim's urine sample were awaited but reports of video footage collected from CCTV cameras installed at AIIMS, where the victims were taken for medical check-up, and news channels have been received.

The FIR was lodged on January 19 on the court's direction after an Ugandan woman had approached it seeking a direction to the police to file a criminal case against unnamed persons.

Later, another African woman approached the court seeking registration of a separate FIR alleging that she was also molested by the group.

The court had on January 29 asked police to file a status report while refusing to order lodging of a separate FIR on the plea.

However, it had asked police that the woman be made a co-complainant in the first FIR lodged on January 19 as she was also "the victim" of the same incident. 

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