[DRAFT]- Delhi HC Advocate Mehmood Pracha

The Delhi High Court on Friday 

 

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma 

 

Justice Jasmeet Singh had recently stayed the execution of a search warrant issued by a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) and other orders passed by the Trial Court to search the office of Advocate Mehmood Pracha till January 13, 2023.

Noting that the Delhi Police had already searched the office premises of Pracha in December 2020 and that no service of notice under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been made, Justice Singh held,

“The order dated 02.03.2021, 04.03.2021, 25.03.2021 passed by learned CMM in FIR No. 212/2020 and order dated 05.11.2022 passed by ASJ-07, New Delhi District in Criminal Revision No. 159/2021 and the search warrant dated 04.03.2021 shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing i.e. January 13, 2023.”

The petitioner, Advocate Mehmood Pracha has been representing some of the accused in the 2020 Delhi Riots case. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Pracha in 2020, subsequently, a search warrant was issued by a Trial Court to search incriminating documents and metadata in his office.

The counsel for Pracha contended that the CPU is lying sealed in his premises and under the first search warrant, the Delhi Police has already searched his office premises on December 24, 2020, for more than 10 hours and have taken whatever documents were required by them. It was further contended that Pracha is ready and willing to with all documents which are required by the Delhi Police along with 65B certificates under the Indian Evidence Act.

Taking note of the submissions, the single-judge bench stayed three orders by CMM dated March 2, March 4, and March 25, 2021, and another order passed by an Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) dated November 5, 2022. Accordingly, listed the matter for further hearing on January 13, 2022.

Case Title: Mehmood Pracha v. State