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Synopsis

A Delhi Court on Monday granted liberty to the Delhi police to approach the high court for restraining TV news channel AajTak from disseminating the content of FIR including digital evidence in connection with the Shraddha Walker murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Manisha Khurana Kakkar of Saket Court was hearing an application filed by the Delhi police for issuing orders to Aaj Tak and other media channels not to telecast material related to the FIR registered in the case.

The ASJ issued a three-day order prohibiting Aaj Tak from airing the results of the narco analysis and psychological evaluation done on Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the accused in the Shraddha murder case.

"...Instructions to state on behalf of news channel Aaj Tak that the said channel shall not telecast/publish/disseminate the contents of the psychological assessment and voice layer test, narco analysis test, and conversation recorded on Dr. Practo App for the next three days, i.e, till April 20," the court said.

It is to be noted that on April 10, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Ramesh Kumar Singh had restrained Aajtak and other news channels from disseminating the content of the chargesheet including digital evidence in connection with the Shraddha Walker murder case, and stated that “It is already a settled law, that Chargesheet is not a Public Document”.

The court was hearing an application by Inspector Ram Singh for the issuance of orders to AajTak and other media channels "not to telecast" the materials in respect of the investigation in the Shraddha murder case.

ASJ had then noted that: AajTak is contemplating telecasting some recordings/transcript of (Narco, Dr. Practo, etc) which was recorded during the investigation of the case. 

He had stated that no party or person can utilize anything which is related to a court record without permission of the court.

The judge had also placed reliance on the Delhi High Court Rules which envisage that a third person cannot obtain a copy of the judicial record in the pending case unless a sufficient reason is shown to the satisfaction of the court.

“Article 21 of the Constitution of India protects the Life and Liberty of a person, it also contemplates a Protection of the psychological state of mind of such a person. Any dissemination of "sensitive info" pertaining to a Murder case will definitely result in psychological repercussions on the accused (Aaftab Amin Poonawala) and also on the victim's family”, the court had observed.

Background:

Aftab Poonawala was arrested on November 12, after Shraddha’s father filed a complaint against him. Shraddha and Aftab were living as live-in partners in Mehrauli, Delhi. According to sources, Aftab had killed Shraddha six months before his arrest. It is alleged that Aftab chopped Shraddha’s body into 35 parts and drew it in different places in Delhi.

Case Title: State v. Aaftab Amin Poonawala

Inputs: PTI