The Hindu : New Delhi News : Court dismisses clerk's plea

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Friday, Jan 05, 2007
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Court dismisses clerk's plea

Staff Reporter

"The accused had allegedly tampered with evidence"

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to set aside a lower court order cancelling the bail of a dismissed court clerk who is facing prosecution for allegedly removing, tampering and mutilating several important documents of the Uphaar fire tragedy case.

As many as 59 cinemagoers had lost their lives in the Uphaar Cinema fire here on June 13, 1997.

Additional Sessions Judge V.K. Maheshwari had on December 24 last year cancelled the bail of the court clerk, Dinesh Chandra Sharma, on an application by the Delhi police submitting that the accused had tampered with evidence of the case when he was on bail.

The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi police had arrested him in November following registration of a case on a Delhi High Court direction on a petition by Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) president Neelam Krishnamurthy. However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau had in December 4 granted bail.

Cancelling the bail, Mr. Maheshwari had said that the accused had misused the liberty of bail by hampering the investigation and tampering with evidence of the case against him.

Agreeing with Mr. Maheshwari, Justice A.K. Sikri of the High Court said: "I am in conformity with the reasoning given by the ASJ, and it is a fit case where bail should not have been granted. Therefore, I do not find any infirmity in the order. The application is dismissed."

The case had come to light when the Public Prosecutor in 2003 noticed that several important documents filed along with the charge sheet were missing or had been tampered with.

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