New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, accused of abetting the suicide of the 23-year-old former air hostess, on the ground that it has not been filed by the person who is apprehending arrest.
Justice P K Bhasin, in his order, said that the accused "appears to be sitting comfortably somewhere without any apprehension of his arrest by the police" and his brother Govind Kumar has filed the anticipatory bail application on his behalf without any proper authorisation.
"This anticipatory bail application is liable to be rejected without going into the merits at all only on the ground that the same has not been filed by the person who is apprehending the arrest," Justice Bhasin said.
Mr Kanda's lawyer Kapil Sangla, meanwhile, said, "The matter has been dismissed by the honourable court on a technicality without going into the merits of the case. We will explore the options and accordingly take appropriate action," said Mr Sangla.
A trial court had issued a non-bailable warrant against the former Haryana minister yesterday. Delhi Police have to arrest the politician before August 24, failing which he will be declared an absconder. Mr Kanda has been missing for the last nine days.
Ten teams of the Delhi Police have raided and searched many places in Haryana, Delhi, UP, and even Sikkim and Goa, but have failed to trace Mr Kanda.
Geetika Sharma hanged herself at her Delhi home on August 5; she named Mr Kanda and his employee, Aruna Chaddha, in a suicide note, saying they had been harassing her. Mr Kanda, before he went missing, had denied any harassment of Ms Sharma, who had worked in several of his companies in the last six years.
(With Agency inputs)