In a 2013 case for allegedly airing ‘morphed, manipulated and obscene’ videos of a 10-year-old child and her family and tying the same to a sexual assault case, a new nonbailable arrest warrant has been issued for news anchor Deepak Chaurasiya.
The court has issued such a warrant for the second time in less than three months. The first nonbailable warrant was issued on October 28, 2017, after the journalist, who has recently joined Zee News as a consulting editor, skipped the hearing due to health concerns. He was granted bail after filing a petition with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The case involves an FIR based on a complaint filed on December 15, 2013, by a child’s relative. It accused three news channels of airing ‘morphed’ videos: News24, India News, and News Nation. Former News24 managing editor Ajit Anjum, Aaj Tak anchor Chitra Tripathi, and former News Nation anchor Deepak Chaurasia are among eight people charged in 2020 and 2021 for broadcasting ‘edited,’ ‘obscene’ videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family and linking the video to the sexual assault case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu.
Charges are currently being argued over.
A Non-bailable warrant was issued against him by Additional Sessions Judge Shashi Chauhan in Gurugram after he failed to show up in court on the day of the hearing, ostensibly because he had a prearranged interview with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Although his attorney filed a request for personal exemption from presence, the court observed that neither Chaurasia nor his attorney had submitted any affidavits to support the request. The Court further observed that the same was filed without any supporting persuasive documentary evidence substantiating his absence.
The counsel said that he even filed a message from the UP chief minister’s office, which said that the delay was not intentional because Chaurasia had to interview the chief minister.
However, the court pointed out that the aforementioned communication was not addressed to Chaurasia. The court further objected to the communication being filed since it was claimed that the message was confidential in nature.
Furthermore, the prosecution said that Chaurasia purposefully skipped the court hearing on the day the case was scheduled for the charge’s defence because he intended to drag things out.
The court also cancelled Chaurasia’s bail bond and surety bond, that was also forfeited to the state. A warrant for Chaurasia’s arrest has been issued for March 3, 2023. A notice to his surety was also issued under Section 446 CrPC.
