Delhi court adjourns hearing on chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Singh in sexual harassment case till Aug 19

The court adjourned the matter for hearing the arguments on the charge till next Saturday.

Counsel for Singh opposed the framing of charges by submitting that offences alleged to have been committed outside India cannot be tried by this court.

He argued that offences committed outside the local jurisdiction of Delhi, cannot be tried by this court.

He further submitted that the police report does not furnish any sufficient explanation for the said delay and no generic explanation can be accepted to condone the delay.

He said that it is settled law that if there is an enquiry by the Internal Sexual Harassment Committee and in the findings the accused is exonerated, on the same allegations, arising out of the same facts, there can be no fresh prosecution.

The government counsel submitted that the submissions made by the Defence counsel were not meritorious. He submitted that the bar of Section 188 is applicable when the offence is committed outside India in its entirety and not otherwise.

He submitted that the offences in question have partly been committed in Delhi and partly outside and therefore, the Delhi Court will have jurisdiction.

He contended that the oversight committee report cannot be called a report that has exonerated the accused, it is merely a departmental enquiry and the same does not bar the jurisdiction of this court.

He requested that the court is duty bound to only see the material on record in the strict brackets of prima facie scrutiny and a mini trial cannot be conducted at this stage.

Delhi Police, after an investigation on June 15, filed a chargesheet under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), and 506 (criminal intimidation) defined under Indian Penal Code(IPC) against Singh.