Bharti Yadav moves SC for deposition via video-conferencing

New Delhi, Sep 16 (UNI) Bharti Yadav, a key witness in the Nitish Katara murder case, has sought the permission of the Supreme Court to depose as a prosecution witness through video-conferencing from her London residence.

The trial court had given her time till September 28 to appear before it as a prosecution witness else she would be declared a proclaimed offender. In this case, all her assets - both immovable and movable in India will be attached and the moment she enters the country, she will be taken into custody.

Her brother Vikas Yadav and cousin Vishal Yadav are the main accused in the case.

Vikas Yadav is the son of former Rajya Sabha member D P Yadav.

The case was transferred from Ghaziabad in UP to Delhi by the Supreme Court after Neelam Katara, mother of the deceased, failed to find a lawyer in Ghaziabad to plead her case.

The Supreme Court, where the petitions filed by CBI and Neelam Katara seeking cancellation of bail granted to Vishal Yadav by the Delhi High Court are pending, has also warned the accused against hijacking the judicial process.

The CBI has already told the apex court that Bharti is being advised not to appear in the court by her family, who has been claiming that they are unaware of her London address.

Earlier, the trial court and the High Court already dismissed five applications filed by Bharti for expressing her desire to be deposed through video conferencing from England.

The CBI is also insisting on her personal presence in the court.

Bharti in her petition challenging the high court judgment has pleaded that in the charged atmosphere in India, it will not be possible for her to appear in person in the trial court. Hence, it will be in the interest of justice to permit her to depose as witness in the case through video-conferencing in London.

UNI/AKS/SC SB PM1721