Advocate Vijay Gurav, who has been appointed the watching counsel, will start attending the trial from June 9, when the court will hear the case again.
The family of the woman allegedly raped by Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja last June has appointed a ‘watching counsel’ to represent her in the trial.
Advocate Vijay Gurav, who has been appointed the watching counsel, will start attending the trial from June 9, when the court will hear the case again.
The family had filed an application in the trial court in April, seeking to appoint a watching counsel. Recently, additional sessions judge SR Trivedi, who is conducting the trial, gave it the nod.
“The watching counsel will assist the prosecution in the trial, and will protect the rights of the victim,” a source said. Gurav is a practising defence lawyer.
In the past, senior counsel Harshad Ponda has acted as a watching counsel in the Best Bakery retrial. Advocates Maharukh Adenwalla, Rebecca Gonsalves and Vijay Hiremath have been appointed watching counsels by the “Tiss rape case” victim.
Shiney, 35, has spent about four months in the Arthur Road jail. He was granted conditional bail by the Bombay high court in October.
Ever since, he has shifted his base to Noida, and comes to Mumbai only to attend court hearings.
Shiney was arrested on June 15, 2009, for allegedly raping his 20-year-old maid a day ago. The victim alleged that the actor had raped her in his house while she was at work, and nobody else was in.
A fast-track court framed charges of rape and criminal intimidation against the actor. A sessions court in Sewri is hearing the case.
Shiney has been booked under section 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The trial is likely to recommence on June 9.
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