Shraddha murder: Father seeks audio-video, fast track hearing

NEW DELHI: Vijay Walkar, the father of Shraddha Walkar, who was murdered by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawalla last year, has moved pleas seeking a supply of audio-video filed along with the charge sheet.

He has also sought a direction for hearing of the case in a time bound fast track manner. The court allowed him to attend the hearing through video conferencing.

He had sought permission to attend the court hearing through video conferencing (VC) as he is a resident of Mumbai. The plea has been filed before the court of Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Manisha Khurana Kakkar where the arguments on the charge are being heard.

The court has directed the Delhi police to file a reply on the applications by the next date. The Next date of the hearing is on March 31.

Meanwhile, accused Aftab Amin Poonawala has engaged a new counsel to represent him in the matter. The new counsel on Saturday sought time to argue on the charge.

The court granted time to the counsel. The court said that this is the last opportunity for the accused as he has changed his Counsel thrice.

However, the court on Saturday allowed Shraddha's Father Vikas Walkar to attend the hearing through video conferencing. The application filed through advocate Seema Kushwaha submitted that the applicant seeks permission to join through video conferencing of the court hearing.

The court asked the counsel why the video are required. Advocate Kushwaha submitted that the audio video is required for the purpose of the trial. The court said that it will consider this point after framing the charges against the accused. It is submitted that the applicant Vikas Madan Walkar is a resident of Vasai, Mumbai.

It is further submitted that the applicant/complainant is an old man aged more than 60 years and suffering from serious mental stress after the brutal murder case of his daughter Shraddha.

The distance between the Saket District court and the residence of the Applicant is more than 1,434 km. He is an electrician by profession, but his professional work has been affected very badly after this heart-chilling crime and he is unable to bear the economical burden of travelling on every date of hearing, the application stated.

He also sought a direction to provide audios and videos attached with the chargesheet to the complainant. It is submitted that due to the bulky chargesheet, the Court permitted and directed I.O. to supply a soft copy of the complete chargesheet to the complainant.

After the direction, the soft copy was provided to the complainant but the soft copy of the chargesheet was not complete. It is stated that the soft copy of audio and videos attached to the chargesheet was not present in the supplied soft copy chargesheet.

It is submitted there is an urgent need for the attached audio and videos of the chargesheet for the litigation purpose. The applicant Vikas Walkar has also sought a direction for time bound fast track trial. The application submitted that it is almost more than 10 months since this heart-chilling crime happened.

It is a very heinous Crime and it is a matter of serious concern to put a strong example of justice before the criminal-minded people. It is also said that Shraddha was allegedly brutally murdered by accused Aftab Poonawala, after this brutal murder, accused Aftab chopped the dead body into 35 pieces and tried to dispose of the body parts in different areas of Delhi and around.

It is said that there is an urgent need for fast-track and time-bound justice in the abovementioned case, as we are well aware that the Indian judicial system is currently burdened with a huge backlog of cases, which has led to significant delays in the delivery of justice. This situation is a matter of concern for the citizens of our country.

The delayed justice leads to high frustration and disillusionment among the concerned people, who often have to wait for years to see their rare of the rarest cases being resolved, the plea stated.

"Delayed justice can also undermine public confidence in the judiciary, which is a cornerstone of our democracy," the plea said.