Urination case: Complainant rubbishes accused man’s claim against her

NEW DELHI: After Shankar Mishra, the accused in the Air India urination case, claimed that the complainant had soiled her own seat, the latter on Saturday rubbised the allegation saying that it was "completely false and concocted".

"The said allegation is also in complete contradiction and a complete volte-face of the statements and the pleaded case of the accused in his bail application," she said.

Mishra's claim came after a sessions court issued a notice on an application by the Delhi Police requesting his custody.

The victim said that her intention has all along been of ensuring that institutional changes are made so that no individual has to go through the "horrendous experience" she went through.

"Instead of being remorseful for the utterly disgusting act committed by him, he has adopted a campaign of spreading misinformation and falsities with the intent of further harassing the victim," she further said.

On January 13, Mishra told the court that he is not the accused. "There must be someone else who peed or it must be her who urinated," he had said.

He further claimed that the woman was suffering from some prostate-related disease.

"Her seat was such that it could only be accessed from behind and in any case, the urine could not reach the seat's front area. Also, the person sitting behind the complainant did not make any such complaint," he had said.

On January 11, Mishra's counsel had contended that his actions, while obscene, were not intended to sexually harass the victim.

Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House courts, Komal Garg, who had reserved the verdict earlier, had also denied Mishra's bail plea, saying that the alleged act of accused of relieving himself upon the complainant is "utterly disgusting and repulsive" and the act itself is sufficient to outrage the modesty of a woman.

As Mishra had failed to join the investigation even after notice under section 41A CrPC being issued to him, his conduct "does not inspire any confidence", the court had observed.

On January 7, the court sent Mishra to 14 days judicial custody.

Mishra has been booked under Sections 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman), 294 (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place), and 354 (intending to outrage modesty) of the IPC as well as a section of the Aircraft Rules Act in a case registered at the IGI Airport police station.

The incident had occurred on November 26, 2022 onboard the Air India flight from New York to Delhi.