SHALINI RAWAT Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In Ajit Kumar v. State (1997 IV AD (Delhi) 469) while accepting the appeal against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence, I wrote:

(2.) Mr.V.P.Chaudhary, Senior Advocate while arguing on the bail application of Shalini Rawat read out to me the passage quoted above and thereby made me relive the overwhelming feeling of contrition which had besieged me while acquitting Ajit Kumar. What if Shalini Rawat too is not enlarged on bail and is acquitted years later? Asked Mr.Chaudhay. But then this was not the only contention. Other points too were raised in support of the plea for bail. I shall delineate the same a little later and ofcourse in greater detail but first let us have a peep at the canvas brought out by the prosecution.

(3.) At the centre-stage is Harsh Gupta, a second year student of Bhagat Singh college and the son of a businessman. On 16/9/1995 in broad day-light he was abducted by two persons who were later joined by yet another and whisked away to a distant locality and kept confined there in a house for days and days together. In the meanwhile the persons keeping the vigil had made enquiries about his father and had assured to release him after receipt of the ransom amount. On 5/10/1995 Kamlesh, a lady who used to cook food for him and wash his clothes. told Harsh Gupta that she would talk about his release with "Shalini Mami". The same evening Kamlesh accompanied by Uday Pratap and Shalini Rawat entered his room, where Shalini while stating that the police might have arrested "the other persons" ordered his release. The same evening he was a free man.