Delhi High Court has issued notices to suspended cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan and 33 others. Justice Siddharth Mridul issued notice to all the 36 respondents who were given a clean chit by the trial court on July 25. The high court has sought their replies by December 16.
The high court also called for the trial court records on the appeal filed by Delhi Police, which had moved the appeal on September 2.
The trial court had dropped all charges against the 36 accused, including some bookies, holding that the Special Cell of Delhi Police had been unable to establish any “nexus” or link between them and crime syndicate allegedly run by fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his close aide Chhota Shakeel, who, along with one Sandeep, were declared proclaimed offenders in the case.
The Delhi Police has argued that the logic and conclusions put forth for discharging the accused was not correct.
It has further contended that the trial court had erred completely in interpreting the provisions of MCOCA dealing with crime syndicates and the manner in which the issue of framing of charges had been discussed needed to be looked at again.
In the charge sheet, the Delhi police had claimed to have unearthed sufficient evidence to prosecute them for the offence punishable under section 120B (conspiracy) read with 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) of IPC, besides those relating to MCOCA.
The trial court had disagreed with the police on invoking MCOCA against the accused and said, “The best case could have been under Public Gambling Act, but that also is not prima facie established from the evidence placed on record by prosecution.”
“The offence of cheating is also not made out prima facie, even if the entire evidence of prosecution is admitted without formal proof,” the trial court had added.
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