The Delhi High Court today directed for a speedy trial in the murder of journalist Saumya Vishwanathan. .The order was passed by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta while hearing a petition filed by one of the accused in the case..Aggrieved by the unreasonable and inordinate delay in concluding the trial, the accused had moved the Court seeking Rs 1 crore as compensation.. While disposing of the petition, the Court directed that the Trial Court preferably conduct hearing on a day-to-day basis or at least twice in a week..It has also directed Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, South West Delhi to monitor the presence of prosecution witnesses on the designated dates of hearing..The Court, however, declined to allow the petitioner’s prayer for Rs 1 crore compensation..Journalist Saumya Vishwanathan was found dead in her car in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj in September 2008. The petitioner was 20 years old when the case was registered in 2009. He had submitted before the Court that he has been “languishing in jail and facing trial as an undertrial prisoner” since his arrest..Apart from the petitioner, there are four other accused in the case. It was the petitioner’s stance that due to huge social and media pressure, he was arrested and falsely implicated in the case..He claimed that till date, the prosecution had examined less than 60 per cent of the 88 witnesses it has cited in its chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet..Aggrieved by the inordinate delay in the trial, the petitioner had invoked his Constitutional right to speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution in the petition filed through advocate Amit Kumar.
The Delhi High Court today directed for a speedy trial in the murder of journalist Saumya Vishwanathan. .The order was passed by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta while hearing a petition filed by one of the accused in the case..Aggrieved by the unreasonable and inordinate delay in concluding the trial, the accused had moved the Court seeking Rs 1 crore as compensation.. While disposing of the petition, the Court directed that the Trial Court preferably conduct hearing on a day-to-day basis or at least twice in a week..It has also directed Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, South West Delhi to monitor the presence of prosecution witnesses on the designated dates of hearing..The Court, however, declined to allow the petitioner’s prayer for Rs 1 crore compensation..Journalist Saumya Vishwanathan was found dead in her car in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj in September 2008. The petitioner was 20 years old when the case was registered in 2009. He had submitted before the Court that he has been “languishing in jail and facing trial as an undertrial prisoner” since his arrest..Apart from the petitioner, there are four other accused in the case. It was the petitioner’s stance that due to huge social and media pressure, he was arrested and falsely implicated in the case..He claimed that till date, the prosecution had examined less than 60 per cent of the 88 witnesses it has cited in its chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet..Aggrieved by the inordinate delay in the trial, the petitioner had invoked his Constitutional right to speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution in the petition filed through advocate Amit Kumar.
