New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea filed by Bharti Yadav, a key witness in the Nitish Katara murder case, for directing the Centre to release her passport.
Bharti lives in the UK and her lawyers have told the trial court that the government must release her passport so that she can visit the country and depose in the case. The prosecution has appealed before the court that the passport must not be released.
Justice A K Sikri fixed November 13 as the date to pass a detail order on her plea for release of passport and renewal of visa after hearing arguments from the lawyers of Bharti, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Delhi Police.
MEA’s lawyer A K Wali told the court that it will ensure her return to UK soon after her deposition in the trial court on November 25 but it would be difficult for the Government to issue the passport before her arrival.
Seeking the court's direction to restrain Bharti from meeting her parents during the period she will stay here in India, Delhi Police lawyer Mukta Gupta told the court Bharti’s security is a concern and her family may influence her.
Bharti's lawyer R N Mittal expressed his apprehension before the court that if his client's visa was allowed to expire on November 30, she would not be able to return to the UK for pursuing her studies and feared she could even be arrested.
Bharti in her petition had pleaded with the court to record her statement in-camera and that she should be allowed to stay at a place of her own choice and police should not "harass" her.
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