Delhi blast case: Centre appoints senior advocate Madhav Khurana as special public prosecutor
New Delhi (PTI): The Union home ministry on Tuesday appointed senior advocate Madhav Khurana as the special public prosecutor for "conducting trial and other matters" in the case related to the November 10 car blast near the Red Fort that claimed 15 lives, a government order said.
Khurana has been appointed special public prosecutor (SPP) for three years on behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to conduct trial and other legal matters before the NIA special court and the Delhi High Court, the order said.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, read with sub-section (8) of Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the Central government hereby appoints Madhav Khurana, senior advocate, as special public prosecutor for conducting trial and other matters related to the NIA case on behalf of the National Investigation Agency before the NIA special court and Delhi High Court for a period of three years from the date of publication of this notification or till the completion of trial of the said case, whichever is earlier," the order issued by Joint Secretary Arvind Khare said.
The NIA has so far arrested seven key accused in the Red Fort blast case in which alleged suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi blew himself inside a Hyundai i20 car using an improvised explosive device (IED).
The matter is linked to a white-collar terror module that was unearthed by Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Umar was a resident of Pulwama district in J-K who worked as an assistant professor in the general medicine department of the Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana.
The NIA has also seized another vehicle belonging to Umar that is currently being examined for evidence in the case.
The NIA has so far examined 73 witnesses, including those injured in the blast.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
