New Delhi [India], September 18(ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the bail application of Amit Khanna, an accused in the 2022 Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case, citing the gravity and manner in which the alleged murder was committed.
Justice Girish Kathpalia dismissed the bail plea after considering the testimony of Nidhi, who was riding a pillion on the scooter being driven by the deceased at the time of the incident, as well as CCTV footage of the incident.
The case pertains to the intervening night of December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2023, when the deceased was allegedly dragged under a car for around 13 kilometres after the vehicle hit her scooter.
The court noted that the CCTV footage showed that the offending car was handed over to Khanna to drive and that he continued driving even after hitting the deceased and dragging her under the vehicle.
"I have examined the testimony of Nidhi, who was sitting pillion on the scooter being driven by the deceased at the time of the alleged incident. Of course, in her testimony, Nidhi stated that the deceased was drunk at the time of the alleged incident, but she also stated that even the accused and other occupants of the offending car were also heavily drunk," Justice Kathpalia said.
"The CCTV footages depict that the offending car was handed over to the accused to drive and even after hitting the deceased and dragging her body under the car, he continued to drive, after which he stopped and got down, but even after seeing the deceased entangled under the car, he drove further up to 13 km," the court said.
"The gravity and manner in which the murder was allegedly committed dissuades me to grant bail," Justice Kathpalia said.
"Therefore, the bail application is dismissed," the court ordered.
During the hearing, counsel for Khanna submitted that he has been in custody since January 1, 2023 and that there was no evidence against him.
The defence contended that from January 1 to January 6, 2023, there was no case against Khanna identifying him as the driver of the offending car.
Advocate Akshay Bhandari, appearing for Khanna, referred to the chief examination of Nidhi and submitted that she had stated that the deceased was heavily drunk as they were returning from a party.
The counsel further contended that Nidhi's claim that she could identify Khanna as the driver of the offending car emerged only in her third statement, recorded a week after the incident, and after the disclosure statement of co-accused Ashutosh was recorded on January 6, 2023.
It was also submitted that the Investigating Officer had not placed on record the results of the Facial Recognition System and that the CCTV footage did not depict Khanna.
The defence further submitted that 14 of the 117 prosecution witnesses had been examined so far and that all other co-accused were on bail.
Opposing the bail application, Additional Public Prosecutor Sanjeev Sabharwal pointed to the manner in which the deceased was allegedly killed after becoming entangled under the car being driven by Khanna and being dragged for almost 13 kilometres.
The APP submitted that after the deceased was dragged for some distance, the associates of Khanna who were travelling in the car got out and saw her body entangled under the vehicle, but continued driving.
Sabharwal also submitted that apart from the CCTV footage and Nidhi's testimony, there was forensic evidence in the form of DNA analysis of flesh recovered from the offending car, which matched the DNA of the deceased. (ANI)
Delhi HC denies bail to Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case accused Amit Khanna citing gravity, manner of offence
