Not condoning delay of about one year in filing charge sheet in a case of allegedly defying prohibitory order against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 58 others in 2014, a Delhi court has dismissed the charges against them.
They were charge-sheeted in May 2018 for defying the order around Tihar jail.
They had gathered there to lodge their protest against sending AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in judicial custody in a defamation case.
According to Section 468 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the probe agency should have produced the probe report before the court by May 2017.
Seeking condonation of the delay, the police argued, among other things, that it happened due to negligence on the part of the investigating officers against whom departmental action had been initiated.
Delay in process
Dismissing the plea, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal said: “There is a delay of almost one year in filing the charge sheet, that too when almost no investigation has been done in this case after 22.05.2014 [date of incident] as is reflected in the charge sheet.”
“It seems that the entire investigation was done by 22.05.2014 and nothing substantial has been done after that date, which can be an excuse not to file the charge-sheet within the period of limitation [three years]. There should be a valid reason for condonation of delay and merely that the investigating officer was negligent is not sufficient,” Mr. Vishal said.
He dismissed the application for condonation of delay and refused to take cognisance of the charge sheet.
