The Patiala House Court on Sunday refused to grant bail to the lady who was accused of stealing laptops and iPads from the Delhi High Court complex and took note of the seriousness and gravity of the offence.
The Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Parad Dalal, while denying bail, said, having considered the seriousness of the allegations, this court deems it appropriate to commit the accused to judicial custody since the apprehension of the investigation officer is true that once released on bail, the accused may abscond and even threaten the witness or indulge in similar offences via the same modus operandi.
This court is also not convinced by the averments of the accused herself that the woman seen in the footage is not her.
The incident occurred on July 10 when the bag containing the laptop and iPad of a law intern was stolen from the 1st floor of the main building of the High Court. The CCTV footage clearly shows the accused lifting the bag and then taking an auto from Gate No. 7 of the High Court, stating that the lawyers appeared for the complainant.
Prabhav Ralli and Stuti Gupta, advocates representing the complainant, submitted that the accused lady was a habitual offender and was involved in various incidents of theft that took place in the Delhi High Court.
It was further submitted that such incidents were creating fear amongst practising lawyers who carry bags and laptops on a daily basis.
Delhi Police, while opposing the bail plea, stated that the accused has been non-co-operative throughout the investigation. After her identity was established, she was served notice to join the investigation, yet she failed, and when the police officials reached her house, she refused to join the investigation and even resisted the police officers in the investigation.