New Delhi: Even as a local court was set to take cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the Special Cell in the hate-app (BulliBai) case, the counsel for the prime accused 21-year-old Neeraj Bishnoi, alleged that the Delhi Police had surpassed its timeline of having to complete the probe within 60 days and so their client should be released. Bishnoi is currently in judicial custody.
The court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dr Pankaj Sharma heard the counsel for Bishnoi and asked the Delhi Police to file a reply to these submissions, noting that the accused was arguing that the chargesheet was incomplete.
During the course of the hearing, Advocate L Ojha, for Bishnoi, claimed that the chargesheet had been filed against the accused without the requisite sanctions.
The Delhi Police Special Cell's IFSO Unit has chargesheeted Bishnoi for the app, where photographs of over 100 prominent and outspoken Muslim women were shared with the intention to "virtually auction them". The Mumbai Police and police in other states are also probing the case based on complainants based in their jurisdiction.
The Delhi Police's chargesheet in the case was filed earlier this month, under sections 153 A (Promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race), 153 B (Assertions prejudicial to national integration), 354 A (Sexual harassment), and 509 (insult to modesty of woman) of the Indian Penal Code along with sections 66 and 67 of the IT Act.
While Bishnoi is yet to secure bail in the Mumbai and Delhi cases, his lawyers said he had secured bail in the case registered in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, the court on Wednesday sought the police's reply to Bishnoi's submissions and scheduled the next hearing in the matter on March 23.