Geetika suicide case: Kanda assures HC he won`t seek interim bail

New Delhi: Former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, accused of abetting the suicide of a former airhostess Geetika Sharma, on Monday told the Delhi High Court that he will not seek interim bail in future from the trial court in order to attend assembly session.

Appearing for Kanda, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta assured Justice J R Midha that his client will not seek "interim bail from trial court to attend assembly session." Accepting Kanda`s submission, the court disposed of a police plea seeking cancellation of his bail on the ground that this very high court had refused bail to Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi in a CWG scam to attend Parliament but in this case the trial court had ignored the police argument and granted relief to Kanda. Kanda has already spent 13 months in custody and got a month-long interim bail on September 4 from lower court to attend the state assembly session. Kanda, who represents Sirsa in Haryana assembly, had also moved the city court for extension of interim bail which was dismissed by the court and he had subsequently surrendered on expiry of his bail period. Earlier, the high court had, while hearing the police plea, said it will examine the issue that despite this court`s ruling not to grant bail to any accused to attend assembly or parliament session, how the trial court had allowed Kanda`s plea. Meanwhile, Justice Midha today said the trial court should have followed the high court`s order on the issue. "Once the law is settled by the division bench (of this court) that no MP or MLA can seek bail as a matter of right, then how can the trial court grant bail?" said the high court, adding "after Suresh Kalmadi judgment, no MP or MLA can seek bail to attend parliament, that right is over..." The court today decided to hear the police`s plea against interim bail granted to Kanda`s employee and co-accused in the case Aruna Chadha on November 12. The trial court had granted interim bail to Chadha till November 15. Kanda and his aide Chadha were accused of abetting the suicide of a Geetika, the 23-year-old former air hostess. The two have denied the allegations. The victim had left behind a note accusing the duo of harassing her. She committed suicide on the night of August 4-5, 2012. Kanda has been charged with rape, abetment to rape as well as suicide, criminal conspiracy and forgery and under the IT Act for hacking computers and sending offensive or false messages. However, the high court has absolved him of the rape charge in the case. The Delhi Police had arrested Chadha on August 8 last year.