Delhi HC rejects revision plea for FIR against Kejriwal, others in AAP worker's death
Oct 07, 2024
New Delhi [India], October 7 : The Delhi High Court has dismissed a revision petition filed by Kalawati, the mother of former AAP worker Santosh Koli, challenging a trial court's order that rejected her plea for the registration of an FIR concerning her daughter's death in 2013.
The case involved allegations of a political conspiracy linked to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former AAP leader Kumar Vishvas, and other AAP members.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna has rejected the plea and challenged a trial court's decision from last year that denied her application for the registration of an FIR under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The court upheld the trial court ruling, stating that the claims did not warrant the registration of an FIR.
The Delhi High Court Judge said, the allegations in Kalawati's complaint suggested a conspiracy to murder her daughter but lacked specific caste-based abuse or remarks necessary to invoke the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
High Court judge also said the trial court Judge had correctly determined that no offense under the Act was established based on the complaint, leading to the rejection of the application for FIR registration. Consequently, the court dismissed Kalawati's petition, finding no merit in her claims, said the Court.
Kalawati, aged 60, filed a petition asserting that her daughter, Late Santosh Koli, was murdered as part of a political conspiracy. Despite her complaint to the police, no FIR was registered for the murder or related offenses under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Her application under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. was dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge on September 16, 2023, prompting her revision petition.
Kalawati emphasized that her daughter, who worked with Arvind Kejriwal at the Parivartan Institution, was a brave individual recognized with a Bravery Award by former President Abdul Kalam. She claimed that Santosh was forcibly given a ticket to contest the Delhi Assembly Elections, with specific individuals assigned by Kejriwal to assist her during the campaign.
Earlier, the family of Santosh Koli, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member who died in a road accident in 2013, has alleged that she was murdered and criticized the party for failing to investigate the case. Koli's mother, Kalawati, claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was aware of the death threats her daughter had been receiving but did not take any action to assist her.
