16 Years On, Delhi Court Clears 3 in Acid Attack Case
Court cites lack of evidence, faulty probe in 2009 Panipat acid attack on MBA student
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Dec: A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted three people 16 years after they were charged with criminal conspiracy in the 2009 acid attack on Panipat MBA student Shaheen Malik.
Additional Sessions Judge Jagmohan Singh cleared Yashvinder, Mandeep Mann and Bala, citing insufficient evidence, a faulty and incomplete investigation, and the absence of the victim’s testimony on record.
The three were accused of conspiring with a juvenile to carry out the acid attack. The juvenile attacker was convicted in December 2015 under IPC Sections 326 and 308. The stricter penal provision under Section 326A, dealing specifically with acid attacks, was introduced later through the 2013 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act.
The verdict was pronounced in camera on Wednesday. Malik’s counsel, Madiah Shahjar, said the court expressed sympathy but ruled that justice must be based on evidence. “An inquiry has been ordered against the investigating officer. The verdict will be challenged in the Delhi High Court and, if required, in the Supreme Court,” the lawyer said.
Court sources said a detailed order will be issued on December 26.
According to defence counsel Priyadarshani, Bala was tried under IPC Sections 120B, 326 and 308, while Yashvinder faced charges under Sections 364A, 376, 506 and 511. Mandeep Mann was tried under Sections 120B, 326 and 308. It was also pointed out that the juvenile had not been convicted for criminal conspiracy.
As per the prosecution, Malik was attacked with acid in Panipat in 2009 after she took up a job as a student counsellor at a college owned by Yashvinder and enrolled in an MBA programme at Punjab Technical University. It was alleged that she faced sexual harassment at her workplace and that Yashvinder’s wife Bala conspired with Mandeep Mann and the juvenile to carry out the attack.
In 2013, the case was transferred to Delhi’s Rohini court.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court termed prolonged delays in acid attack trials a “national shame” and directed all High Courts to submit details of pending acid attack cases within four weeks, calling such tardy proceedings a “mockery of the system.”
