New Delhi: Delhi High Court has declined to grant bail to an accused facing murder trial in a 2012 shootout here that claimed the lives of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep, saying there are “serious allegations” against him.
Justice P S Teji also turned down the plea for relief on medical grounds by Chaddha’s manager Narender Ahlawat, saying he “can get the medical treatment in judicial custody as opined by the medical board of AIIMS and there is no requirement to release him on bail to get medical treatment outside”.
“It is not the stage to comment on the merits of the case inasmuch as the prosecution witnesses are still under examination and it has not been completed so far. No comment on the aspect whether there was any role of the petitioner in the alleged incident or not can be made at this stage.
“He has been charge sheeted for hatching a criminal conspiracy and committing the murder apart from committing other offences. There are serious allegations against him and there is apprehension of influencing prosecution witnesses,” the court observed.
Ahlawat, who was on interim bail since April 2013 which was extended from time to time, has sought release from jail on the ground that he was “not required for the purpose of investigation as the charge sheet has been filed and charges have been framed against him”.
This was opposed by the police which said he “was one of the managers of Ponty Chadha and was part of the conspiracy”.
Earlier, the court had denied bail to sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, following which the trial court on April 5 had cancelled his interim bail and sent him back to Tihar Jail. The Supreme court had also refused to hear Namdhari’s bail application.
Namdhari, the alleged main conspirator in the case, was on interim bail since November 27 last on medical grounds. Now all the 20 accused are in judicial custody.
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.
PTI
