Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently dismissed the applications filed by six women officers of the Byculla prison, challenging the charges framed against them by the trial court. The trial court had in June framed charges against the six women officers for assaulting and killing convict Manjula Shetye. The special court had charged the six accused with criminal conspiracy, murder, criminal intimidation and destruction of evidence.
The accused — Jailer Manisha Pokharkar and constables — Bindu Naikade, Waseema Shaikh, Shital Shegaonkar, Surekha Gulve and Aarti Shingne, being aggrieved by the charges, petitioned the single-judge bench of Justice Mridula Bhatkar. The six women challenged the framing of charges by the special court on the ground that it did not heard their submissions. The accused claimed the special court did not granted an audience to them and abused the process of law by directly framing the charges against them.
They further argued, the special court had framed the charges in the absence of their advocates. Justice Bhatkar, while hearing the arguments noted, the special court had heard the arguments of the accused at the time when it was dealing with their discharge applications. “The special court judge was fully justified in framing the charges against these accused. This can be said so as the judge had already heard the arguments of the accused at the time when she was hearing their discharge pleas.”
“The judge framed the charges only after hearing the arguments of the accused at the time of discharge and then proceeded with framing of charges. Thus, the judge has not abused the process of law,” Justice Bhatkar said. The court accordingly dismissed their pleas.