Delhi court rejects fugitive criminal's plea for extension of interim bail

New Delhi, May 15 Delhi's Patiala House Court has rejected the plea of a fugitive criminal who sought extension of his interim bail, taking into note that he had filed a fake Covid-positive report to place the request before the court.

The fugitive criminal had submitted a fake Covid-positive report and claimed that he needed to undergo surgery for his mother.

However, the court dismissed the plea and ordered Ratnesh Bhutani to surrender to the jail authorities.

Ratnesh had moved a plea through advocate Arpit Batra for grant of an extension of interim bail.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Swati Sharma, while denying the relief in its order passed on May 10, stated: "It is now evident that the fugitive criminal submitted a false/fake Covid positive report, which allowed him to spend more time with his family and care for his parents."

The court, taking into account the deceptive act of submitting a false/fake Covid positive report and the lack of immediate medical urgency, determined that there were no grounds to grant him interim bail.

Consequently, the application for interim bail has been dismissed, according to the court.

Furthermore, the court in its order said that the high court had already taken into consideration the general medical condition of his parents when rejecting the plea for an extension of interim bail.

The court also noted that the surgery for his mother was scheduled for April 30, 2023. However, due to the submission of a false/fake Covid positive report for his mother, the surgery could not take place. However, in reality it is scheduled to take place on May 21.

Ratnesh, who is accused of raping a minor in the US in 2005, was apprehended in Agra in 2021 after evading authorities for approximately 17 years.

The US police, acting on information provided by Interpol, arrested him. Currently, there is a pending request for his extradition before the relevant court in Delhi.

The Delhi High Court had initially granted him interim bail, which was subsequently extended.

However, on April 17, 2023, the application for further extension of interim bail was dismissed. He was given the freedom to file an appropriate application before the Trial Court if there was an urgent need for his parents' surgery.

spr/pgh