On Saturday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia promised swift action in the matter of a man who is accused of urinating on a female co-passenger on a New York-Mumbai aircraft last November. The accused, Shankar Mishra, was taken into custody by Delhi Police earlier in the day. The claimed event happened on an AI flight on November 26 of last year, travelling from New York to Mumbai.
“Further action will be taken speedily after the completion of the ongoing proceedings,” Scindia told reporters here without elaborating.
On Saturday, a Delhi judge denied the police’s request to have Shankar Mishra taken into custody and instead ordered him to be held in judicial remand for 14 days. Shankar is accused of peeing on a female co-passenger on an Air India flight. The authorities requested a three-day hold on him so they could question him in custody. They claimed he needed to be recognised by three members of the cabin staff, two captains, and other passengers.
Mishra was sentenced to judicial remand by Metropolitan Magistrate Anamika when she noted that the police had not requested his custody in order to record the testimony of other witnesses, including cabin crew and fellow passengers. “Just because there’s public pressure, don’t do this. Go by the law,” the judge said.
“All reasons stated above… . PC is not required for recording the statement of witnesses. They can be interrogated in his absence. Statements can be recorded, and there is no requirement of his PC,” the judge said. The court noted that on the basis of the evidence, the accused prima facie did not cooperate in the investigation.
“Perusal of records shows that the accused was deliberately avoiding joining of investigation. In order to make further investigation, recording of statements of crew members, recording statements, his custody is not required,” the judge said
