Delhi Oxygen Concentrators Hoarding Case: Delhi Court Rejects Plea For Police Custody Of Navneet Kalra, Sends Him To 14 Days Judicial Custody

A Delhi Court on Thursday sent Navneet Kalra to 14days judicial custody who is accused in connection with the recovery and seizure of Oxygen Concentrators by the Delhi Police recently from the 'Khan Chacha' cafe under his ownership recently.

Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Akansha Garg sent Kalra to judicial custody after Delhi Police's application seeking 5 days police custody remand for Kalra was rejected by the Court. The Police had filed another application seeking 5 days police custody remand on the expiry of 3 days police custody granted earlier by the Court. 

"Whatever substantial had to be achieved by the investigating agency through the Police Remand of the accused has already been achieved and no fruitful purpose would be served by extending the Police custody of the accused. Therefore, I do hereby reject police remand application for abovementioned reasons. Accused be sent to J/C for 14 days." The Court ordered.

Furthermore, the Court observed thus:

"The offence in question in the present case is of grave nature and has serious implications upon the society at large. In these testing times when utmost humanity and compassion have been exhibited by people a few miscreants in the society have resorted to vices like hoarding and black­marketing of essential drugs and medical equipments which could otherwise have averted so much death and destruction. However, the Courts of law are not expected to be carried away by the public sentiment and therefore cannot authorise detention merely because some stringent and non-bailable sections have been slapped upon the accused by the prosecution. It is their sacrosanct responsibility to apply their judicial mind and delve into the said question deeply."

"The contention that the mirror images of the recovered mobile phones are yet to be created, or the data from the recovered laptop is yet to be segregated and therefore requires the custody of the accused is flawed at the very outset and I do not find any force in it. Even if the accused is remanded to JC or enlarged upon bail, nothing whatsoever is an impediment upon the investigating agency to confront or interrogate the accused. Also the fact that the replies of the various banks is still awaited cannot be made a ground to deny the accused his valuable Right." Court observed further.

Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa along with Advocate Vineet Malhotra appeared for Navneet Kalra whereas Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava appeared for the State.

The development came after the Court had sent Kalra to 3 days police custody remand on Tuesday.

The Delhi Police had registered a case under Sec. 420,188,120B,34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodity Act 1955 for recovery of over 500 oxygen Concentrators from some restaurants in the national capital. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch.

Delhi High Court had refused to grant interim protection from arrest to Kalra after he moved the High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the matter after hearing the matter for two days. A single judge bench comprising of Justice Subramonium Prasad turned down the request of Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi and orally remarked thus:

"I'm persuaded by the trial court's order. Interim protection cannot be given at this stage."

Earlier, last week Kalra's anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court.

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