GUWAHATI: The court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kamrup (Rural), A Bhattacharyya on Monday gave relief to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from his personal appearance in the court in connection with a criminal defamation case filed against him by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in July last.
Sisodia is in jail in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy case. He was arrested on February 26 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In the case, Sarma alleged that Sisodia, in a press conference in New Delhi on June 4, accused him of indulging in corruption while supplying PPE kits in the state during the first wave of covid-10 pandemic in 2020.
Based on Sarma’s complaint, the CJM court on August 23 issued a summon to Sisodia asking him to appear before the court on September 29.
Sisodia moved the Gauhati High Court against the CJM order, but the High Court on November 7 dismissed his petition on the ground that Sisodia had not been able to make out any case for quashing the court case.
On December 13, the Supreme Court rejected Sisodia’s petition challenging the Gauhati High Court order and asked him to appear before the CJM court.
On November 19, Sisodia moved a fresh petition before the CJM court requesting the court to dispense his appearance that he is now staying in New Delhi in connection with the affairs of the state and allow him to be represented by his lawyer Anan Kumar Bhuyan.
Sisodia also stated that he is not disputing his identity and he would appear before the court as and when necessary.
The defence was submitted that the case is a summon procedure one and hence the appearance of the accused is not warranted on each and every date of the hearing.
After hearing both sides, the court on Monday gave relief to Sisodia from his personal appearance in the court.
Referring to the Supreme Court judgment on Bhaskar Industries Ltd vs Biwani Denim, the court said that the presence of the accused in the court is not for marking his attendance just for the sake of seeing him in the court, it is to enable the court to proceed with that.
If the process of the trial can be achieved even in the absence of the accused, the court can certainly take into account the magnitude of the sufferings which a particular accused person may have to bear to make himself present in the court in that particular case.
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The court allowed his absence on the condition that he has to appear before the court as and when directed and that will have to submit an undertaking before the court to the effect that he will not dispute his identity as the accused of the case and his engaged lawyer will appear before the court on each and every day fixed by the court and he should not have any objection if the evidence is recorded in the court in his absence.
The court also fixed April 29 for the submission of documents (including the electronic document) by the complainant and undertaking by the accused.
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