Delhi Court grants bail to accused in 4 yrs old murder case, says no connected evidence

New Delhi: The Rohini Sessions Court of Delhi has granted bail to an accused in a 4-year-old murder case and said the accused has been in judicial custody since April 27, 2019, and that there is no connecting evidence against the accused except disclosure statement. The Additional Sessions Judge Vikram, while granting bail to the 26-year-old accused, said, "We cannot lose sight of the fact that though the Investigating Agency has completed the investigation and submitted the charge sheet, the fact remains that the necessary charges have not been framed, therefore, the presence of the appellant in custody may not be necessary for further investigation." Advocate Ravi Drall appeared for the accused, namely Jodie, and submitted that the accused in the present case had been falsely implicated upon the disclosure statement of co-accused persons who were arrested in another murder case. Even the name of Applicant Joginder isn't mentioned in the disclosure statement of the co-accused rather some Sonu name has been mentioned. Further, the accused Joginder has been arrested for the offence of conspiracy for making calls to co-accused before the commission of the crime and Call Detail Record (CDR) has been relied upon by the investigating agency but neither the SIM nor the phone belongs to the accused, submitted the Advocate Drall. The accused wasn't seen in CCTV footage and in pursuance to his disclosure statement, no recovery of clothes has been shown from the accused which can be matched with the accused wearing at the time of the incident and seen in CCTV, added Advocate Ravi Drall. Appearing for Delhi Police, the Additional Public Prosecutor had opposed the bail application and submitted that the allegations were very serious. It was further submitted that the applicant/accused is a habitual offender having involvements in 7 other matters and he is also BC of PS Ashok Vihar. It was also submitted that applicant/accused may extend threats to the witnesses. On February 28, 2019, a person (deceased) after collecting the dues of a businessman of Rs 1,75 lac was going on his motorcycle during which he was shot dead in an attempt to snatch the money bag but somehow the bag could not be snatched. The incident of looting was captured on nearby CCTV. Co-accused persons were arrested after about 1 month in another murder case in which they confessed their involvement in the present case, and after submission of the charge sheet, the case was committed to Sessions Court Rohini. The case was pending for a long time in wait of the FSL report, which was submitted in October 2023, the concerned lawyers said. (ANI