New Delhi: Delhi Police Monday opposed the maintainability of a plea filed by Sukesh Chandrasekhar in Delhi High Court seeking expunction of allegedly derogatory remarks made against him in a trial court judgment that convicted him of impersonating a Supreme Court judge to influence a special judge hearing a 2017 corruption case.
Justice Madhu Jain said the court would hear arguments on the maintainability of the petition on Nov 3. The case relates to a 2017 phone call by Chandrasekhar from police custody to Poonam Chaudhary, then a special judge hearing Prevention of Corruption Act cases.
Counsel for Delhi Police told HC that since the trial court had already passed the sentencing order, Chandrasekhar should challenge both his conviction and sentence in appeal and raise all related issues there. On Aug 20, the trial court convicted Chandrasekhar under IPC Sections 170 (personating a public servant), 189 (threat of injury to a public servant) and 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication), describing the offence as a “direct affront” to the independence and sanctity of the judicial process. Police argued that Chandrasekhar’s plea was not maintainable since he filed it based on the conviction verdict, which needs to be first challenged in appeal. During the hearing, Chandrasekhar’s counsel argued that the remarks should be set aside as several other cases are pending against him and the observations could prejudice his rights.
In his plea, Chandrasekhar sought deletion of what he termed “derogatory, pejorative, stigmatic and unnecessary observations” made in the judgment. He argued that the trial court repeatedly characterised him in terms that were “wholly unnecessary for adjudication” and that the case should have been decided on evidence rather than any assumed character of the accused.