Opposing the anticipatory bail plea of Gopal Kanda, who has been absconding to evade arrest in the Geetika Sharma suicide case, the city police told the Delhi high court on Tuesday that the former Haryana minister’s conduct reveals that his presence in custody is essential to carry out investigation in the case.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the prosecution, told the court that Mr Kanda should be refused bail as he has been on the run despite a legal notice being issued to him asking him to join investigation, which is at a very preliminary stage. “Looking into his conduct of not joining the investigation, removal of all electronic items including his laptop and computer from his office... It is a case for refusal of anticipatory bail,” Mr Luthra said.
“Kanda’s custodial interrogation is needed to find out the conspiracy aspect between the accused (Kanda) and his employee Aruna Chaddha against Sharma,” the ASG further told the court.
Appearing for Mr Kanda, senior advocate K.T.S. Tulsi said a suicide note cannot be the “gospel truth” and the same has to be proved by independent evidence. “Suicide letters are written in anger and so any allegations can be levelled out of anger,” he said, adding that prima facie no case under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is made out against his client on the basis of the FIR and the suicide note.
Justice P.K. Bhasin reserved order on Mr Kanda’s plea for anticipatory bail, which was earlier rejected by the trial court.
Mr Kanda had moved the Delhi high court on Monday for anticipatory bail saying that Sharma was “hypersensitive” and her act of suicide was a handiwork of an “unsound mind and of a frustrated individual”. The former Haryana minister has been accused of abetting the suicide of 23-year-old Sharma, who was found hanging in her house in North West Delhi on August 5, and was an ex-airhostess of his defunct MDLR airline.
In a suicide note found at her residence, she had said she was ending her life due to harassment by Mr Kanda and MDLR official Aruna Chaddha, co-accused in the case. On August 8, the Delhi police had arrested Mr Chaddha who is now in police custody.