New Delhi: Businessman and restaurateur Navneet Kalra has now alleged that the Delhi Police has no jurisdiction to investigate the case lodged against him or even arrest him in the matter which pertains to the alleged hoarding and blackmarketing of close to 700 oxygen concentrators by him in three of his posh eating outlets situated in the capital.
Kalra further said that only a Drug Inspector can arrest him under sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act since the alleged crime was covered under the law. Kalra made these submissions through his lawyer, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg during the hearing of his bail plea.
"Delhi Police has no jurisdiction to either include these offences in the FIR or to investigate or even arrest me. The law has been settled that they cannot include the case in the FIR. Only a Drug Inspector can arrest me under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act…" Pahwa argued.
On the aspect of Kalra allegedly selling substandard and defective oxygen concentrators to needy patients, as alleged by the prosecution, the counsel asked as to why were the same equipment given by the police to Covid care centres if the case was so.
"If the products were substandard, would the Delhi Police have given the same to Covid care centres?...It's a clear case of high headedness...making somebody a scapegoat. If they are seizing it from me, and then giving the same to Covid care centres for saving lives of people. 419 oxygen concentrators were taken into custody for Covid care. If the government can do this, why can't I?" the lawyer further told the court. Pahwa added that police is "blowing hot and cold" in the matter.
The court was informed that police has been calling up "all and sundry", including Kalra's lawyers and his son, where they are asking them to lodge a complaint against Kalra on the grounds that they had long conversations on mobile.
The lawyer further stated that Kalra had a good intent to sell the oxygen concentrators and argued that section 420 of IPC (Cheating) cannot be invoked against him as "there is no material to show that I have criminal intent to cheat someone". "Oxygen concentrators of the same make are available on Amazon and India Mart at 95,000 and 89,000 respectively whereas I'm selling them for 60,000," Pahwa stated.
Pahwa also raised an issue with the fact that the government had not regulated the price cap on import of oxygen concentrators despite which he has been arrested in the case. Relying on parity of the other five co-accused who had earlier been granted bail, the counsel said that the same should be granted at this stage of the case particularly when Kalra is not required for any custodial interrogation.
"I can't be put in the pre-trial detention stage. All the recoveries have been made…" Kalra told the court. During the hearing, Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava asked the court for an adjournment for want of time and now the matter will again be taken up today.