HC stays trial in Nafisa Joseph suicide case

MUMBAI: Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed the trial in the suicide case of former Miss India Nafisa Joseph, in which businessman Gautam Khanduja is an accused.

Justice A M Khanvilkar, while staying the trial, also admitted a petition filed by Khanduja and adjourned the matter to January 31.

Advocate Ashok Mundargi, who had filed a petition on behalf of Khanduja, had challenged the Sessions Court order which had refused to discharge his client from the case.

Khanduja, a city-based automobile parts dealer, was arrested last year by the Mumbai police under Section 306 (abatement to suicide) of IPC. However, he was later granted bail.

According to prosecution, Khanduja had allegedly refused to marry Nafisa, following which she committed suicide on July 20 last year by hanging herself at her residence in suburban Andheri.

In his petition, Khanduja had challenged the Sessions Court's order of August 24, on the ground that it had wrongly turned down his discharge plea, as the chargesheet filed against him did not disclose any offence u/s 306 IPC.

The High Court was also told that even while rejecting his plea, the Sessions Court had held that there was no evidence regarding conspiracy or intention to aid the suicide, on the part of the accused.

Advocate Mundargi further argued that the applicant had the right to marry the girl of his choice, but he found that Nafisa, who was then working as a VJ on MTV, quarrelled with him.

Khanduja's alleged refusal to get married to her, resulting in her committing suicide, did not fall in the ambit of Section 306 of the IPC, he added.