The Hindu : New Delhi News : Court reserves order on Apollo staff

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Sunday, Dec 09, 2007
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Court reserves order on Apollo staff

Staff Reporter

They are charged of destroying evidence about Rahul Mahajan’s treatment in ’06

Staff had filed petition seeking the quashing
of cases against them
Charges against him were concocted as police did not have material to prove them, says Mittal

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has reserved judgment on a bunch of petitions by doctors and non-medical staff of Apollo Hospital here and Sudhanshu Mittal, a family friend of the slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. The petitions sought quashing of cases against them for allegedly entering into a criminal conspiracy to cause destruction of evidence about the treatment administered to Pramod Mahajan’s son Rahul at the hospital in 2006.

Justice Reva Khetrapal reserved the judgment at the conclusion of arguments by counsel for the Delhi police and the accused.

The Sarita Vihar police had charge-sheeted Mr. Mittal for allegedly manipulating the medical record of Mr. Rahul Mahajan in the hospital and causing the cleaning of his vomit at his father’s erstwhile official residence at 7, Safdarjung Road, here where he along with his friends had allegedly taken drugs in 2006.

The police charged the doctors and the non-medical staff with giving false information to a public servant on oath; destruction of evidence; abetment of any offence if abettor is present when offence is committed and criminal conspiracy of the IPC for allegedly misleading the investigation and tampering with evidence of the case.

In his petition, Mr. Mittal submitted that the charges against him were concocted as the police had brought no material on record to prove them. The petitioner doctors submitted that there was nothing on record to warrant their prosecution under Sections 201 (destruction of evidence) and 182 (false information) of IPC because they had neither caused the disappearance of any material, let alone evidence, nor given false information to the investigating officer .

Rahul Mahajan and others were facing trial in the case here for consuming a cocktail of drugs at his father’s erstwhile residence here.

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