BALJEET SINGH MALIK Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application filed by the appellant under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 seeking condonation of 170 days' delay in filing the appeal.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that on 30.9.2008, an information was received vide DD No.6-A at 3:45 A.M. by PS:Vasant Kunj, New Delhi that one Ms. Soumya Vishwanathan was found murdered in her Maruti Zen car, bearing the registration No.DL-2CR-5801 at Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, who was shot in her head by a gun. An FIR No.481/2008 under Section 302 IPC was registered on the same date at PS:Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. The investigation of the said case was carried out by Inspector Shakir Hassan, the then SHO, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. In the meanwhile, the accused Ravi Kapoor along with his associates, Amit Kumar Shukla and the present appellant was arrested in FIR No.69/2009 under Sections 302/365/397/201/411/403/412/468/471/482/120B/34 IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act registered by PS:Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. In the said case, the abovenamed persons had kidnapped one Ms. Jigeesha Ghosh from near her house in Vasant Kunj area and after robbing her of valuables and using her ATM card, killed her and threw her body near Faridabad, Haryana. All the above-mentioned persons were apprehended by the Police. The Police recovered from the possession of Ravi Kapoor one santro car bearing No.HR 18- C-3409, one loaded country made pistol along with three live cartridges and one empty/fired cartridge. The said accused disclosed that he and his associates were also involved in the killing of a girl at Nelson Mandela Marg, New Delhi on 30.9.2008, besides other heinous cases of kidnapping, murder, theft etc. It was on this basis that the abovementioned persons were arrested in FIR No.481/2008.

(3.) A charge under Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as 'MCOCA') was framed against the appellant by the learned ASJ-01, Saket, New Delhi vide order dated 9.5.2011. Apart from the charges under MCOCA, the appellant was charged for various other heinous offences under Sections 302 and 411 IPC.