Geetika suicide: Former minister denied bail by HC

Former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, arrested for his alleged role in air hostess Geetika Sharma's suicide case, was on Monday denied bail by the Delhi high court.

Justice Pratibha Rani dismissed Kanda's bail plea after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence counsel and said she would pass a detailed order later.

Appearing for Kanda, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that several months have passed since his client's arrest on August 18.

He also argued that the circumstances of the case show "it is not a case of abetment of suicide but a case of infatuation."

He further argued that his client always encouraged the deceased, Geetika, to stay with him but he had no intention to "provoke her to commit suicide."

Opposing Kanda's bail plea, Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra said, "We are in the process of conducting further investigations in the case and he, being a politician and an influential person, may influence witnesses in the case."

During the argument, Justice Pratibha Rani also pulled up Kanda's counsel for not approaching the sessions court against denial of bail to him by the trial court.

Kanda had moved the high court on November 1 against the September 20 order of the trial court, which had dismissed his bail plea on the ground for need of further probe due to a medical report that the victim was pregnant in March this year.

Geetika, 23, was found dead on August 5 at her Ashok Vihar residence in North West Delhi. In her August 4 suicide note, Geetika had said she was ending her life due to "harassment" by Kanda and his aide Aruna Chaddah, co-accused in the case.

They, however, have denied the charge.

Kanda was denied anticipatory bail earlier by the trial court and the Delhi high court after which he had surrendered before the police on August 18.

Chaddah is also in jail, as she was denied bail by the trial court, first on September 7 and then on October 15.

She had sought bail on the ground that she is a single parent and has a seven-year-old daughter and also old parents to look after.

Kanda and Chaddah have been charge-sheeted under Section 306 (abetment of suicide), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (destruction of evidence), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery with intention to cheat), 469 (forgery with intention to harm reputation) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code.

They have also been booked under Section 66-A of the Information and Technology Act which deals with hacking of computers.