A city court on Tuesday, suspended the non-bailable warrant issued against the editor of a national daily following a submission that he was not in the country to appear before it in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, in which suspended IPS officer R K Sharma is the prime accused, the Times of India has reported.
Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri, who had earlier in the day issued a NBW against the editor of Asian Age after he failed to appear before the court despite bailable warrant, recalled the warrant on imposing a fine of Rs 2,000 and a written submission by his representative.
The judge asked the printer and publisher of the newspaper, who appeared as representative of the editor, to place on record the paper clippings, which according to Sharma had pointed to involvement of a powerful politician in the scribe’s murder case.
Earlier, the editor’s counsel had requested the court to cancel the NBW contending his absence was not wilfull and he could not appear before the court as he was abroad on an official tour.
The Court acceded to his demand following a report that the editor was on a foreign trip from July four and his absence was not deliberate.
The editors of other two newspapers, Times of India and Indian Express, also placed before the court, the paper clippings of the respective news dailies.
The court had, on May 17, issued bailable warrants against the three editors after they had failed to appear before it on summoning. It had refused their recording of statements and required them to place on record the paper clippings only.
