HP CM exempted from personal appearance

DA CASE Will have to appear whenever directed by court; Virbhadra cited advanced age, ailments for seeking exemption

NEW DELHI: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh was on Thursday granted an exemption from personal appearance by a special court till the conclusion of the arguments on charge in a ₹10 crore disproportionate assets case against him.

Special judge Santosh Snehi Mann also granted the relief to Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh, a co-accused in the case.

However, the couple, who were present before the court on Thursday, will have to appear whenever directed by the court, the judge said.

In their applications, moved through senior advocates Rebecca John and Ramesh Gupta, 83-year-old Virbhadra Singh and 62-year-old Pratibha Singh had sought permanent exemption from personal appear- ance citing their advanced age and ailments and had submitted they were not permanent residents of Delhi.

“His identity is not disputed. He is the chief minister of a state and he has various duties to perform. Meanwhile, he will be represented by his advocate one very date,” the application moved for the politician said.

Public prosecutor Manoj Shukla, appearing for the probe agency, opposed their applications .“On the one hand, you( Vi rb had ra) say you are ailing and on the other you are running an entire state, addressing several public meetings in a day ,” he said.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on January 18.

› On the one hand, you (Virbhadra) say you are ailing and on the other you are running an entire state, addressing several public meetings in a day.

MANOJ SHUKLA, public prosecutor appearing for the CBI