New Delhi: A Delhi court acquitted gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and two others in a case related to the alleged ₹1 million extortion calls, saying that the prosecution did not record enough material to establish the essential elements of the offences.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Nupur Gupta released Haren Sarapdadiya, Lawrence Bishnoi and Ashish Sharma in a case registered at Sunlight Colony police station under Section 387 (exposing a person in fear of death or grievous bodily harm in an attempt to extort) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint by Raman Deep Singh.
The complainant claimed that between midnight on 23rd and 24th April 2023 he started receiving calls from an unknown number threatening his life and demanding ₹1 crore.
After the investigation, the police filed an indictment against the accused under § 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or serious bodily harm to himself or another) and 387 as amended by § 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the MŘP.
However, the court observed that the offense of extortion under Section 386 IPC requires actual delivery of property induced by fear of death or grievous hurt, which was absent in the case. “Neither did the complainant claim that there was a transfer of property in jeopardy, nor was the same claimed in the entire indictment file,” the court said in its order dated February 20.
He further stated that even in the case of the offense under Section 387 of the Code of Conduct, the prosecution did not prove any “overt act” which would indicate that the accused put the complainant in fear of death or serious injury.
“The complainant only claimed to have received calls from an unknown number demanding an amount ₹1 crore. After studying the complaint itself, it can be said that there was no mention of physical act at all, rather it was said that he was asked to pay a specific amount of money,” the court said.
The judge also pointed out that investigators did not record calls or collect other physical evidence, and that the case rested mainly on the testimony of the co-accused.
“Apart from the disclosure statement, there is no evidence on record to indicate that the accused persons are accused,” the court said while ordering the release of the accused.
The court directed the accused to furnish bail ₹20,000 each with one guarantee. On March 6, after posting bail, the trio were released.
