Delhi Court Discharges AAP Legislator In Party Worker's Suicide Abetment Case

A Delhi court today discharged AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan and five others in a case of abetment of suicide of a woman party worker in 2016.

Special judge M K Nagpal, however, directed to frame charges against one of Chauhan's associates, Ramesh Bhardwaj, saying there was sufficient prima facie evidence to hold him responsible.

Bhardwaj was also accused in a sexual harassment case filed by the woman.

According to the complaint, the main accused Bhardwaj was a close associate of Chauhan and, therefore, the politician always protected and sheltered him in the sexual harassment incident.

The judge held that simply because Chauhan was the local MLA and Bhardwaj, or any other accused was close to him, cannot be considered as an incriminating circumstance against him to hold him prima facie responsible for the offence of abetment of suicide by the woman, either in pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy or individually.

Regarding Bhardwaj, the court held that there was sufficient prima facie evidence to hold him responsible for the suicide as the documents and material on record suggesting that the suicide was abetted by him which was punishable under section 306 IPC.

It further said, "This court is of the considered opinion that there is no prima facie evidence or material on record to show the existence of any criminal conspiracy between Bhardwaj and all the other accused persons for abetting the commission of suicide by deceased."

Those others discharged were Mohan Lal Verma, Sanjay, Amit Bhardwaj, Rajnikant, and Mukhtiyar Singh.

According to the prosecution, the woman had consumed a poisonous substance at her home in North-West Delhi's Narela and died during treatment at LNJP Hospital.

The woman had filed a complaint against Bhardwaj for alleged sexual harassment a month before committing suicide, after which he was arrested and later released on bail.

The family members of the woman had claimed that she had gone into depression after Bhardwaj was released on bail.

She had also alleged that the accused was being protected by Chauhan, an MLA from Nangloi.

The woman in a video recording had also levelled serious allegations against Bhardwaj, accusing him of pressuring her to "compromise" if she wanted to rise in the party and claimed himself to be "close to the local party MLA", the prosecution had claimed.

If convicted, Bhardwaj may get a maximum 10-year jail term.

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