VVIP Chopper case: Delhi HC rejects plea seeking quashing of NBW issued against Shravan Gupta

New Delhi [India], November 4 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of Shravan Gupta seeking quashing of Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against him in the Augusta Westland VVIP Chopper case.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed the plea moved on behalf of Shravan Gupta on Tuesday. He has challenged the NBW issued by the trial court.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said, "In the totality of circumstances, it is hereby held that there is no ground for cancellation of the open NBW issued by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM)."
"There is no merit in the present Petition, which is hereby dismissed," Justice Krishna ordered on November 4.
While dismissing the plea, the High Court also dealt with the apprehension of the petitioner that he might be arrested if he joined the investigation physically.
The High Court observed that the Petitioner's underlying fear is that his physical appearance will inevitably lead to his arrest. While the purpose of the NBW is to secure his attendance, the law provides adequate remedies for this apprehension.
"The Petitioner's fear that he would 'necessarily be arrested' is a misplaced apprehension. The Petitioner has ample safeguards and provisions under the law to seek protection, once he subjects himself to the jurisdiction of the Court," the bench said.
A petition was filed by Shravan Gupta for setting aside the order dated 05.12.2020, vide which his Application for cancellation of NBWs was dismissed. It was stated that he was ready to participate in the investigation online, but he was unable to do so physically.
The Petitioner had filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court, seeking appropriate directions to the ED to examine and investigate him through the mechanism of video conferencing. A notice was issued on the Petition. However, the Petitioner withdrew the Petition with liberty to approach the High Court for the relief.
It was asserted by the petitioner that Non-bailable warrants were issued by the trial court on August 29, 2020, due to the ED's concealment of material facts from the court.
By no stretch of imagination can the Petitioner be said to have either concealed himself or made himself scarce from assisting the investigating authorities in the investigation of the case, he added.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa appeared for Gupta. He argued that the trial Court erroneously observed that the Petitioner is trying to evade the investigation, even when the record shows that he joined the investigation physically when he was in India, responded to all summons issued to him, and provided all the documents sought.
He asserted that he has always been ready and willing to join the investigation by the mechanism provided under the law, including but not limited to the sanctioned procedure of video conferencing.
He had to travel to London in November 2019 due to business exigencies and legal proceedings in a commercial dispute with the EMAAR Group of Dubai, UAE, the counsel submitted.
On the other hand, ED opposed the petition.