Judge pulls up Jatin-Lalit

The duo against whom a case was lodged in 1989 allegedly for assaulting the lobby manager of Hotel Centaur, Kishore Naik, had failed to appear before the court despite summons being issued on several occasions following which they were declared absconders.

Counsels for the Pandit brothers, A K Desai and C H Hirani told the court that a misunderstanding had occured over the settlement of the case. They claimed that their clients thought that the matter was already settled outside court by a friend who was also known to the complainant Kishore Naik. As a resultthe accused remained unaware about attending the court, the counsels.

The counsels further informed the court that Naik told the common friend that he would make an application to the police to withdraw the case and trusting the common friend8217;s word, Jatin-Lalit did not attend court nor did they intimate their lawyers.

Desai told the court that his clients were never absconding. He informed that the incident took place on August 13, 1989 when Lalit and the hotel manager were involved in a heated argument following which the police arrested four persons including the Pandit brothers. Later, all were released on bail. The counsel said that immediately after the incident, Lalit was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the P D Hinduja Hospital and kept under observation for three days. The chargesheet was filed in the same year though charges were framed in 1993 under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code.

Special Public Prosecutor Vidya Kasle told the court that the trial has been delayed primarilybecause the accused have not been attending court and took the courts for granted.

The judge said that he was adjourning the matter to Monday to give the defence more time to study the technical aspects if any in the matter and point them out to the court. However, he rejected the defence plea to release the duo on sympathetic grounds stating that the court considers everyone equal before the law, rich and poor.