Ghaziabad: A special Ghaziabad CBI court is likely to record statements of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case on Friday. The statements could not be recorded on Tuesday, as scheduled, because the petition of the Talwar couple to summon 14 'crucial' witnesses in the case was pending in the Allahabad High Court.
While the special CBI court on Tuesday slammed the "delaying tactics" allegedly being adopted by the couple, it gave them two days to testify before it. CBI judge Shyam Lal said it cannot be a "silent spectator by leaving control of the trial to the accused" and asked the dentist couple to appear before it on May 17.
Defence counsel Manoj Sisodia had on Tuesday filed a plea that the couple be allowed to leave National Capital Region (NCR) to file application in the Allahabad High Court to challenge the trial court order rejecting their plea for summoning 14 additional witnesses, including ADG (Law and Order) and the then CBI Joint Director Arun Kumar, to record their statements.
"There seems to be no justification for delay for a week. Only two days time is given to leave for Allahabad and file the petition, they will appear in person on May 17 failing which their bail will be cancelled and they will have only themselves to blame. In consequentium relief for one week is rejected," Judge said in his order.
The court said even if the petition is allowed by the superior courts, supplementary statements can be recorded for which there is no legal bar therefore recording of statements cannot be postponed at this juncture. It said adjournments cannot be given at the drop of the hat and the accused cannot attend the trial at their leisure.
The court said the application has been opposed by CBI "tooth and nail" on the "fulcrum of putting unwarranted road blocks" for expeditious trial as mandated by the Supreme Court. Lal said the court cannot be a silent spectator by leaving control of the trial to the accused who have, as it appears, decided not to take the case forward.
Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit in her bedroom on May 16, 2008. The initial suspicion went on Hemraj whose body was later found in the terrace at their residence in Jalvayu Vihar in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi. While the Talwar couple has been claiming innocence in the case, the CBI is insisting that Aarushi was murdered by her parents and no outsider was involved.
(With additional information from PTI)
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