CS assault case: Kejriwal and Sisodia move HC against order

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia approached the Delhi High Court on Tuesday challenging a trial court's order directing that prosecution in the Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash assault case be conducted by an officer of Delhi Police not below the rank of ACP.

Kejriwal and Sisodia, who have been summoned as accused in the assault case, also challenged the order permitting two advocates to conduct the prosecution on behalf of the officer of Delhi Police, instead of regular public prosecutor.

The trial court had on October 22 allowed the plea of Prakash seeking direction to conduct the prosecution through the counsel nominated by the Delhi Police and not through lawyers empanelled by the AAP government.

The plea of Kejriwal and Sisodia was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and V K Rao in the post-lunch session which allowed it to listed for hearing before the concerned bench on November 22.

The plea has been listed for hearing before Justice Najmi Waziri.

The criminal case relates to alleged assault on Prakash during a meeting at Kejriwal's official residence on February 19.

Prakash was recently transferred and will now be the Additional Secretary in the Department of Telecom.

The plea in the high court sought direction to set aside the order of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) and that the prosecution in the case be allowed to be conducted by the public prosecutor before the trial court. "The impugned order is otherwise based on conjunctures and surmises and is liable to be set aside," the petition claimed.