All Delhi HC judges to hear cases in person from March 15

The Delhi high court on Saturday issued an office order stating that from March 15 all its judges would hold physical hearing of cases.

The HC said the existing system under which only 11 benches - two division benches of two judges each and nine single-judge benches - hear matters via the physical mode would continue till March 12.

The order also said that in exceptional cases, the high court might permit any of the parties and/or their lawyers to join the proceedings through video conferencing.

KANPUR: One of the three minor girls, found in a field of a village in Unnao district, was taken off ventilator support on Saturday after her condition improved, a senior police official said.

The girl has shown improvement and doctors decided to take her off the ventilator, Kanpur deputy Inspector General (IG) Preetinder Singh said. The girl is still not in a condition to speak to the police and narrate the incident, the DIG said.

Three Dalit girls, aged 13, 15, and 16, were found unconscious in a field near their home in Unnao district late on Wednesday. Two of them died soon after, and the third, the oldest, was shifted to a Kanpur hospital in critical condition.

UP Police also found out on Saturday that one of the two accused arrested on Friday for the killing of two girls is a major from the information on his Aadhar card.

SP City, Unnao, VK Pandey said he has been sent to 14-day judicial custody in place of juvenile home.

During the questioning he maintained that he was a minor but his Aadhar card showed his age to be 19-years-old. The court was informed accordingly and he was produced along with another accused Vinay Kumar alias Lambu, he said.

In a related development, the police added section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) in the FIR, which was originally registered under sections 302 and 201.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Udit Raj was booked on Saturday for his tweet over the death of two girls in Unnao, with the police alleging he propagated fake news that the teenagers were raped and their bodies cremated against the will of their family.

Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni said the post was an attempt to create anger through “misleading” rumours.