Ponty Chadha and brother Hardeep were allegedly involved in a property dispute and were killed in a shootout at a Chhattarpur farmhouse in New Delhi in November 2012.
Delhi High Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, who along with 20 others, is facing murder trial in a 2012 shootout in New Delhi that claimed the lives of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep.
"Your application for regular bail is dismissed," Justice P S Teji said, adding that "presently the accused Namdhari is on interim bail since November 27 last year." The high court also raised questions over a trial court decision granting the accused interim bail even though his regular bail application was dismissed by the same court.
Namdhari had sought regular bail on the ground that he was "no more required by investigating agency and no purpose would be served while keeping him in jail with hardened criminals". The police had opposed his request saying he was the main accused who had actively participated in the conspiracy.
Ponty and Hardeep, who were allegedly involved in a property dispute, were killed in a shootout at a Chhattarpur farmhouse here on November 17, 2012. Subsequently Namdhari was arrested on November 23, 2012. Later, the remaining accused were apprehended.
The trial court in July last year had framed charges under section 302 (murder) read with section 149 (offence committed by member of unlawful assembly) of the IPC against all the 21 accused, including Namdhari and his Personal Security Officer (PSO) Sachin Tyagi.
Namdhari, through his advocate R S Malik, claimed innocence and said the complainant of the case on whose statement an FIR was lodged had not supported the police theory that he was part of the conspiracy. He said the FIR too did not contain his name.
The accused also said he had never misused any condition imposed on him during the interim bail, which ends on April 4. He also claimed there was no "premeditation" for shooting at Hardeep.
On January 28, 2014, the trial court had dropped murder charges against all the accused and added the charge of culpable homicide not amounting murder under section 304 of IPC against the alleged main conspirator Namdhari and his PSO Sachin Tyagi.
On May 15 last year, on the plea of police, Delhi High Court had overturned the trial court's decision and directed framing of murder charges against all the 21 accused. The apex court had also upheld the high court's decision. Ponty and Hardeep were also charge sheeted in the case.
However, the trial against them had abated as they were killed in the shootout.
The court had ordered framing of criminal conspiracy, common intention and those under the Arms Act against all the 21 accused for trying to take over the disputed farmhouse from the possession of Hardeep.
Delhi Police had filed two charge sheets in the case and levelled murder charges against all the accused. The first charge sheet had named Ponty as an accused as he had reached the place of the incident with Namdhari and others as part of his "well-hatched conspiracy" to take possession of the south Delhi farm house.
The supplementary charge sheet had accused Hardeep in the case, saying the probe had shown Ponty was killed by the shot fired at him by his brother.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Ponty Chadha")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}