Geetika suicide case: Chaddha withdraws bail plea from HC

Aruna Chaddha, an accused in former air hostess Geetika Sharma's suicide case, today withdrew her bail plea from the Delhi High Court with a liberty to file a fresh one in the trial court.

Chaddha's counsel Ramesh Gupta withdrew the plea after Justice Manmohan refused to give an early date to hear it in October and issuing notice to the police on it, posted it for hearing in November.

Gupta told the court "if such a long date is given, the whole purpose of bail application will be defeated as the police will file charge sheet in the case and the situation will be different by then."

Refusing to grant early hearing, Justice Manmohan allowed Gupta to withdraw the plea saying "the bail plea is allowed to be withdrawn with a liberty to file fresh bail petition before trial court."

40-year-old Chaddha, worked in former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda's now-defunct MDLR Airlines where deceased Geetika too worked.

Chaddha had sought bail saying she has a seven-year-old daughter and old parents to look after.

Chaddha had also pleaded to the court that she was the sole bread earner of her family.

"Applicant (Chaddha) has old and ailing parents (father aged 71 years and mother 63) and both are suffering from heart and other ailments," the plea had said.

Chaddha had claimed the material collected by police did not show that she was involved in abetting Geetika's suicide.

"The bare perusal of the FIR (first information report) and the material collected by the investigating agency does not show that the applicant is involved in any manner in the abetment of suicide or its conspiracy," read her bail plea.

Kanda, who had employed Chaddha and Geetika, is the prime accused in the case.

Geetika, 23, in her suicide note had accused Kanda and Chaddha of harassing her and forcing her to commit suicide.

She had died on the night intervening Aug 4 and 5 at her house in New Delhi.

Both Kanda and Chaddha have denied the allegations and are facing the charges of criminal intimidation and abetment to suicide.

Chaddha was arrested on August 8 and has been in judicial custody since then.