SC orders trial court for day-to-day hearing in Bhanwari Devi case

JODHPUR: The Supreme Court has directed the trial court to record statements of all the accused on a day-to-day basis, as far as possible, using even video conferencing in the sensational Bhanwari Devi kidnapping and murder case.

The division bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta while hearing a special leave to appeal (criminal) filed on behalf of Parasram Bishnoi, an accused in the case, said: “The trial Court will furnish a report to us before the next date by which time we would expect the recording of the statements under 313 CR.P.C. to be completed and a finality on the issue whether any defence witness is sought to be examined.”

The SC fixed April 12 as the next date for hearing.

Bhanwari Devi, 36, had gone missing from Jodhpur’s Bilara area on September 1, 2011 following which her husband Amarchand, who is now in jail, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court. After the state government ordered a CBI probe into the case, the CBI took over investigation of the case in October 2011, a month after 37-year-old auxillary nurse midwife Bhanwari Devi went missing. The agency filed the first charge sheet against three accused – Sohanlal Bishnoi,

Shahabuddin and Kumbharam alias Baldev – on December 2, 2011.

Court accepts Salman’s plea for exemption from personal appearance

A plea made by Bollywood actor Salman Khan for exemption from appearance in the district and sessions court in Jodhpur during hearing of appeal in the blackbuck poaching case on Wednesday was accepted by the court. The next hearing has been scheduled on March 10.

Salman, through his counsel Hastimal Saraswat, filed an application before the court seeking exemption from appearance. He said in the application that Salman could not appear in court due to being busy in film shooting.

Judge recuses himself from Vadra’s case

The Rajasthan High Court Justice Manoj Kumar Garg on Wednesday rescued himself from hearing two criminal writ petitions, one of which was filed against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by the Sky Light Hospitality company, partnered by Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.

However, the court extended the interim protection from arrest to Vadra till the next hearing in an alleged money laundering case related to a land scam in Bikaner.