Shraddha murder: Court forbid's "Aaj Tak" from airing Poonawala's narco test

New Delhi: A Delhi court forbade the news channel Aaj Tak from utilising in any form any material related to the FIR registered in the Shraddha Walkar murder case of Mehrauli here, PTI reported.

Delhi Police have filed a petition, seeking orders to "Aaj Tak" and other media channels not to telecast any material regarding the FIR and the link court of Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar Singh was hearing it.

"However, since if an immediate order is not passed, the application itself will be rendered infructuous, this court is of the view that till the next date, the Aaj Tak news channel shall not utilise in any form any material related to the FIR. The matter is to be taken up on April 17 for a detailed hearing," the judge said.

The court observed that Article 21 of the Constitution protects the life and liberty of a person, along with protecting the psychological state of mind of such a person. Publishing sensitive information pertaining to a murder case will definitely result in psychological repercussions for the accused and also for the victim's family, it said.

The court was told about "Aaj Tak" planning to telecast some recordings or transcript of the narco-analysis test of accused Aftab Poonawala, who allegedly strangled his live-in partner, chopped her into pieces, stored them in a fridge and disposed them in a forest area over 18 days.

Judge said that the petitioner also expressed concerns about a law-and-order situation due to public sentiments involved in the case.

However, the judge said that this was a "prima facie view" and a detailed hearing would be there for the parties.

"I am of the view that the application needs to be heard at length not only from the side of the state but also from the side of the Aaj Tak news channel. For this, let the state serve a copy of the application on the Aaj Tak channel (by the name of the company), which shall be at liberty to file a response," the judge said.

The judge also noted submissions by Chief Public Prosecutor Vinod Sharma and Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad that recordings and transcripts have already been made part of the court records, and in such circumstances, no party or person can utilise anything related to a court record without the permission of the court.