Guwahati: Shankar Mishra, who is accused of peeing on a woman when they were travelling on an Air India trip from New York to New Delhi on Friday, claimed in court in Delhi that he did not commit the crime and that the complainant may have urinated on her own seat.
The accused through senior lawyer Ramesh Gupta submitted, “The complainant woman’s seat was blocked. It wasn’t possible for him (Mishra) to go there. The woman has a problem of incontinence. She urinated on herself. She is a Kathak dancer, 80 per cent of kathak dancers have this issue.”
Senior attorney Ramesh Gupta questioned the validity of the Delhi Police inquiry and suggested that another party must be involved.
“She herself urinated. The seating system was such that no one could go to her seat. The passenger sitting behind the complainant did not make any such complaint,” he added.
On this, Additional Sessions Judge Harjyot Singh Bhalla observed that “It is not impossible to go from one side of the flight to the other. Sorry, but I have travelled as well. Anybody from any row can come around and go to any seat.”
The Additional Sessions Judge stated, “The appeal doesn’t seem to have been made before the magistrate court,” after taking note of the Delhi Police’s comments made before the session to determine if the accused was drunk before boarding the flight or not. Making a decision about an order based on arguments that were not presented before the magistrate is improper. The grounds appear to be broadly stated, and it is unreasonable to expect the magistrate to apply his judgement to every scenario.
The Delhi Police were then given permission by the Sessions court to reapply to the Magistrate Court for police remand on new grounds, if necessary.
Mishra was sentenced to 14 days of judicial custody earlier that day in Delhi’s Patiala House Court.
The Patiala House Court reserved a decision on Shankar Mishra’s bail petition on Wednesday.
However, Shankar Mishra’s bail request was rejected by the Delhi Police. Police claimed that if he was released on bail, he could sway the complainant.
Public Prosecutor, speaking on behalf of Delhi Police, claims that 164 of the complainant’s testimonies have been recorded along with numerous others. Soon, more statements will be recorded.
The Delhi Police also informed the Magistrate Court that a revision petition against the refusal of police remand, which is scheduled for listing tomorrow, had been filed.
On January 6, 2023, the Delhi police arrested Shankar Mishra in Bengaluru.
On November 26 of last year, Mishra is accused of peeing on a 70-year-old woman when she was intoxicated in business class on an Air India aircraft.
On January 4, Delhi Police filed a FIR against him in response to a complaint the woman made to Air India. In accordance with Sections 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act and Sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the police filed a FIR. The victim and the accused are both from locations other than Delhi.