Court denies bail to three arrested with Kerala journalist on way to Hathras
Mathura: A Mathura court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of three persons, booked on charges of sedition and terrorism after their arrest here along with a Kerala journalist on their way to a Hathras village to meet the family of a Dalit woman who had died after her gangrape.
Additional District Judge Mayur Jain rejected the bail pleas of Atiqur Rahman, Aalam, and Masood saying the charges against the accused are serious and they cannot be enlarged on bail at this juncture when the investigation into the case is still going on.
Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan has not moved any court for the bail till now.
District prosecution counsel Shiv Ram Singh said the court rejected the bail application of the trio after hearing arguments of both prosecution and defense sides for four days.
Journalist Kappan and three others were arrested by Mathura police on October 5, while they were on their way to a village in Hathras to meet the family members of the Dalit girl, who had died in a Delhi hospital while undergoing treatment after a gangrape in her village.
Arrested initially on suspicion of being a threat to the peace, the four were booked two days later on a slew of stringent charges, including those of sedition and terrorism, and were sent to a Mathura jail under the judicial custody.
The case was initially probed by the Crime Branch of Mathura police but was later transferred to the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force.
After the rejection of the bail plea of the three, their defense counsel Madhuban Datt Chaturvedi told PTI that his clients would now move the high court for bail.
He said his client Atiqur Rahman was denied bail although he is suffering from a serious ailment.
The court gave weightage only to the prosecution version, ignoring the defense counsel's argument, he said.
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UP court rejects plea seeking Rahul Gandhi's voice sample in defamation case
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): A local MP/MLA court on Saturday rejected a plea seeking a voice sample of Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by a BJP functionary against the Congress leader, and posted the matter for next hearing on May 11.
The plea, filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra through his counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey, had sought Gandhi's voice sample for a forensic test to compare it with an audio clip.
After the petition was dismissed, Pandey said they would file a revision plea before the sessions court against the order.
The court rejected the plea after hearing the arguments of both sides, including Gandhi's counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla.
The matter dates back to 2018 when Mishra, a local BJP leader, filed a defamation suit over Gandhi’s alleged objectionable remarks targeting Amit Shah while campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections.
After five years of legal proceedings, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi in December 2023.
The Rae Bareli MP surrendered before the court in February 2024, and was granted bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each by a special magistrate.
On July 26 last year, the Congress leader recorded his statement before the court, claiming innocence and calling the case a political conspiracy.
Earlier this year, multiple hearings were postponed due to a strike by lawyers and the ill-health of Gandhi’s counsel.
