New Delhi, A Delhi court has granted bail to a man accused of assaulting a police constable on emergency PCR duty, saying the prosecution’s video footage did not show the presence of a co-accused at the spot at the time of the alleged offence and questioning the unexplained delay in registering the FIR.
Additional Sessions Judge Munish Bansal was hearing the bail plea of Vipanshu Rana, who was arrested in connection with an FIR registered under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions, including those relating to assault or obstruction of a public servant. Even the scooty alleged to have been used during the commission of the offence is stated to have not been recovered. It observed that the video footage relied upon by the prosecution did not show the presence of a co-accused at the spot. The court also noted that the footage produced by the defence showed the complainant beating Rana with a wooden plank, a fact absent from the FIR’s narration of the incident. The court further questioned how the complainant, a police officer who allegedly chased the accused, failed to note the registration number of the two-wheeler. It also noted that the two-wheeler allegedly used in the offence was not found. The judge expressed concern over the delay in lodging the FIR.
In an order dated August 25, the court said, “The video footage of the incident does not reveal the presence of co-accused Raghav at the place of incident, as alleged by the prosecution. The complainant’s medical examination was conducted at around 5:30 am on May 13, but the FIR was registered only at 4:55 pm on May 14.
“The IO/prosecution has utterly failed to explain this unexpected delay in lodging the present case FIR, more so when the complainant was himself a police officer,” the court said.
However, the court noted several discrepancies in the prosecution’s case.
