The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on the anticipatory bail plea of former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, wanted in connection with the suicide of his ex-employee and former flight attendant Geetika Sharma.
Justice P.K. Bhasin reserved the order after counsel appearing for Kanda and Delhi Police concluded their arguments.
Geetika, 23, was found hanging from the ceiling of her house here on the night of Aug 4-5. She left behind two suicide notes, blaming Kanda and Aruna Chaddha, senior executive in Kanda’s group now under arrest.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sidharth Luthra, appearing for police, sought Kanda’s custodial interrogation to find out the conspiracy between him and Chaddha.
The ASG submitted the disclosure report of Chaddha and after going through certain documents, the court asked the ASG about the medical documents. Luthra informed the court that Chaddha had taken Geetika to a private clinic for abortion, and they would investigate this aspect also.
Kanda along with Chaddha visited Dubai to force Geetika to quit her job with a leading airlines there, police told the court.
Police added that when Geetika returned to India and started work for Kanda’s company, there was an unusual condition in her contract that required her to meet Kanda daily after work.
While seeking Kanda’s custodial interrogation, Luthra said: “According to us there is prima facie evidence that he (Kanda) is an offender. Today he is absconding, we have evidence against him. We request this court for his custodial interrogation.”
Senior advocate K.T.S. Tusli, who represented Kanda, sought anticipatory bail for him and said suicide notes left behind by Geetika could not be taken as gospel truth.
“Suicide letters are written in anger and so any allegations can be levelled out of anger and same cannot be taken as gospel truth,” he said.
Luthra said Kanda’s questioning was needed to access computers and laptops of Kanda, Chaddha and Geetika which were missing from his office.
Opposing Kanda’s anticipatory bail plea, the ASG said: “The conduct of not joining the investigation, removal of all electronic items, including his laptop and his computers from office, is a case for refusal of anticipatory bail.”
“We have a problem in investigation. When we went to Kanda’s office, there were no computers,” police told the court.
The ASG urged the court to dismiss the anticipatory bail plea of Kanda as he had been absconding despite a notice served upon him to join the investigation.
He said that the investigation was at a preliminary stage and custodial interrogation was necessary.
It was also submitted by police that Geetika desired to move away from Kanda, but he mounted pressure on her which led to the death of young lady.
Seeking anticipatory bail for Kanda, Tulsi said that some other evidence was required to hold Kanda responsible for Geetika’s suicide.
He said that no offences under offence of abetment to suicide under section 306 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) was made out against him.
“I may be fond of her, she may be fond of me but that does not mean I incite her to commit suicide. The incitement was of signing the documents, not of committing suicide,” Kanda’s counsel said.
“The reasons given by the trial court while dismissing anticipatory bail were that there was misuse of power by me, I have given preferential treatment to Geetika and I exploited her, but these are not offences under offence of abetment for commission of suicide,” Tulsi said.
Tulsi also expressed his displeasure on the way investigation was being conducted.
“The investigating agency has revealed the identity of persons. Suicide notes are confidential.”
He complained that a photocopy of the suicide note was published in a newspaper, alleging that it seemed to be an attempt to create an atmosphere against Kanda.
Tulsi said Geetika’s own family did not sense that she could commit suicide. “Even her mother and father did not know she could commit suicide, how could I know.”
Kanda’s anticipatory bail plea was dismissed Aug 9 by a sessions court that said allegations against him were grave and serious and his bail plea had no merit.
The former Haryana minister was booked for abetment to Geetika’s suicide and criminal intimidation. He is yet to appear before Delhi Police for questioning.
Geetika joined Kanda-owned MDLR Airlines in 2006. The airlines became defunct in 2009 and she went to Dubai to work for an international airlines in October 2010. Within five months she came back to Delhi and started working for another company owned by Kanda.