Kotkhai custodial death case: Himachal IG seeks bail, cites lack of ‘social distancing’ in jail

“The petitioner, who has appeared in person, has stated that he will file the relevant discharge summary regarding his hospitalisation qua the medical conditions mentioned in the application,” reads the order passed by Justice Alka Sarin.

The hearing took place through video conferencing and Zaidi himself argued his case from the jail. CBI Standing Counsel Sumeet Goel opposed the bail plea. The case will now be heard on May 1. Zaidi’s bail petition is already pending before the High Court since February. Bail granted to him by the Supreme Court was cancelled by a trial court in Chandigarh in January soon after IPS officer Soumya Sambasivan, a prosecution witness, gave a statement before it that she was pressured by the accused in an attempt to influence the trial.

In the hand-written application, Zaidi said he had moved a plea for interim bail before the trial court last month but has not heard about its outcome till date. “That the applicant continues to be incarcerated in prison, which is an overcrowded space and (where) norms of social distancing are impossible to maintain, rendering him at grave risk due to the corona pandemic,” the application filed before HC reads, adding the “risk” is causing anxiety to him and his family including his school-going daughter.

The case relates to the custodial death of an accused, who had been arrested in a case of alleged rape and murder of a 16-year-old school girl in Kotkhai area of Shimla district. The trial in the 2017 case was transferred to Chandigarh on orders of the Supreme Court.

He was first arrested on August 29, 2017, within 38 days of the premier central agency taking over the investigation and remained in custody for over 19 months. He was released on April 6, 2019, via a Supreme Court order. The IGP rank officer was taken into judicial custody on January 24 this year after the special CBI court cancelled his bail.