A Delhi court on Tuesday, January 31, granted bail to Shankar Mishra, who is accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger while in a drunken state on a New York-Delhi Air India flight last November. Harjyot Singh Bhalla, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) of the Patiala House courts, who had reserved his order on Monday, granted bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The judge had noted that what Shankar Mishra has allegedly done is disgusting but the court is bound to follow the law. “It may be disgusting; that is another matter but let us not get into that. Let's go into how the law deals with it,” the judge said.
On January 27, the ASJ had adjourned the matter after the complainant's advocate Ankur Mahindro informed the court that he had not been given a copy of the bail plea. Currently in judicial custody, Shankar Mishra moved the court on January 25 seeking bail against Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg's January 11 order, who had earlier rejected his plea, saying that the alleged act of accused of relieving himself upon the complainant is “utterly disgusting and repulsive” and the act itself is sufficient to outrage the modesty of a woman.
On January 21, Shankar Mishra's judicial custody was extended by 14 days. Moreover, the Public Prosecutor opposed the accused's bail contending that the latter initially did not cooperate during the investigation and had absconded with his mobile phones switched off. “He had switched off all his mobile phones. We traced his IMEI number,” the Public Prosecutor had said, adding that the incident has insulted India on an international level.
Appearing for Shankar Mishra, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta said that earlier, his client's bail plea was also denied as the investigation was pending and now it is over. “Initially my bail was also declined because the investigation was pending. Now that is done and they have examined other crew members and witnesses,” he said.
Earlier, Shankar had also claimed that the complainant had soiled her own seat and the woman had rubbished the allegation saying it was “completely false and concocted”. On January 13, Shankar told the court that he was not the accused. “There must be someone else who peed or it must be the lady herself who urinated,” he had said. He had further claimed that the woman was suffering from some prostate-related disease.
The Delhi Police had arrested Shankar in Bengaluru on January 6 for the alleged act.