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'Furnish Fresh Bail Bonds; Pay ₹2 Lakh Costs': P&H High Court Grants Interim Relief To Deepak Chaurasia After NBW Issued In POCSO Case

Sparsh Upadhyay

22 Feb 2023 2:40 PM IST

    • Furnish Fresh Bail Bonds; Pay ₹2 Lakh Costs: P&H High Court Grants Interim Relief To Deepak Chaurasia After NBW Issued In POCSO Case

    The Punjab And Haryana High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to Zee News Anchor Deepak Chaurasia in the POCSO Case while ordering him to appear before the trial court on March 3 to furnish fresh bail bonds.The court passed this order on Chaurasia's plea seeking quashing of the Feb 4 order of the Gurugram POCSO Court declining his application seeking permanent exemption from...

    The Punjab And Haryana High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to Zee News Anchor Deepak Chaurasia in the POCSO Case while ordering him to appear before the trial court on March 3 to furnish fresh bail bonds.

    The court passed this order on Chaurasia's plea seeking quashing of the Feb 4 order of the Gurugram POCSO Court declining his application seeking permanent exemption from personal appearance and issuing an arrest warrant against him.

    Read more about Gurugram Court's order here: Haryana Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Deepak Chaurasiya In POCSO Case For Non-Appearance Due To An 'Interview With UP CM'

    The bench of Justice Jagmohan Bansal noted that Chaurasia is working on a senior position with a national news channel and there is no allegation of prosecution or complainant that there is possibility on the part of petitioner to flee from justice.

    "Right of personal liberty granted by Article 21 of the Constitution of India is one of the most pious and important fundamental right guaranteed by our Constitution. Arrest not only deprives right of personal liberty but also causes mental agony, stress and tarnish reputation of entire family," the Court further remarked as it granted interim relief to Chaurasia.

    The bench, however, imposed a cost of Rs. 2 Lakh upon him, to be deposited with the PGI, Poor Patient Welfare Fund, Chandigarh, for wasting valuable time and energy of courts as well as the prosecution. 

    The background of the case

    The Additional Sessions Judge, Gurugram Shashi Chauhan issued a Non-Bailable Warrant against him after he failed to appear before the Court purportedly due to a pre-scheduled interview with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the day of the hearing (Feb 4).

    Though an application seeking personal exemption from appearance was moved by his counsel, the Court noted that the same was not supported by any affidavit of Chaurasia or his counsel. The Court also noted that the same was filed without any accompanying cogent documentary proof explaining his absence.

    Further, the Court had also canceled the bail bond and the surety bond of Chaurasia, and the same was forfeited to the State. A warrant of arrest was issued against Chaurasia for March 3, 2023. A notice to his surety under Section 446 CrPC was also issued.

    This was the second time that such an arrest warrant has been issued against him.

    Now, challenging that very order, he had moved the High Court wherein his counsels Sr. Counsel Vinod Ghai and Advocate Edward Augustine George argued that on account of his preoccupation, i.e. interview of UP CM, he could not appear before the trial Court and sought exemption.

    It was also argued that the petitioner is well known personality in the electronic media and there is no possibility of flee from justice. He does not want to delay the trial. The Counsels further submitted that he would not raise any grouse, if any adverse order is passed in his absence including framing of charges and recording of evidence.

    In view of this, granting him interim relief, the Court directed him to appear before the trial Court on March 3 to furnish fresh bail bond.

    Earlier, on October 28, the Gurugram Court issued a similar order after Chaurasiya moved an application seeking exemption from his personal appearance on grounds of serious health condition. However, since his application wasn't supported by relevant medical reports, therefore, the Court issued an arrest warrant against him.

    Chaurasia is among the eight people who were charge-sheeted for airing "edited", "obscene" videos of a ten-year-old child and her family and linking the video to the sexual assault case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu.

    Case title - DEEPAK CHAURASIA V/S STATE OF HARYANA

    Click Here To Read/Download Order


    Tags
    Justice Jagmohan BansalPOCSO CaseJournalist-News Anchor Deepak ChaurasiyaDeepak ChaurasiaDeepak ChaurasiyaPunjab And Haryana High Court
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