'She urinated on her...': Air India 'pee-gate' accused Shankar Mishra's lawyer tells court
Air India urination case: "I am not the accused. Someone else must be. It seems she herself urinated. She was suffering from prostate disease, which several kathak dancers appear to have," said the defence lawyer.
FollowIn the latest development in the Air India 'urination' case, the accused, Shankar Mishra, told the Delhi court that he did not urinate on the female co-passenger, and she urinated on herself on Friday, January 13, 2023.
For the first time, the claim was made by his lawyer since the incident occurred on an Air India New York-New Delhi flight on November 26, 2022, contradicts denunciations of the accused by some of the co-passengers and even a string of WhatsApp exchanges he had with the victim, which suggested the unsavoury incident did happen.
The accused's counsel submitted in front of Additional Sessions Judge Harjyot Singh Bhalla while arguing against a Delhi police petition seeking revision of a magisterial court's order denying police his custodial interrogation.
The Judge denied the application, claiming that the submissions made before him did not appear to have been made before the Metropolitan Magistrate. He said that the police could re-apply to the magisterial court.
"I am not the accused. Someone else must be. It seems she herself urinated. She was suffering from prostate disease, which several kathak dancers appear to have. It was not him. As the seating arrangement was such that no one could reach her seat," said the defence lawyer.
"Her seat could only be approached from behind, and in any case, the urine could not reach to seat from the front. Also, the passenger sitting behind the complainant made no such complaint," he added.Â
Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Mishra, said that according to the complainant in the FIR, the man was sitting on 8A urinated, and Mishra was not sitting on 8A.
However, the Judge said that travelling from one side of the flight to the other was possible. Additionally, he said that he had travelled well and that anyone from any row could come around and take any seat. The court denied Mishra bail. The Judge also requested a seating diagram for the flight.
On November 26, 2022, Mishra allegedly urinated on an elderly woman who was inebriated in business class on an Air India flight. The incident occurred during the first week of January of this year. Mishra was arrested in Bengaluru on January 7, 2023, and was sentenced to 14 days in judicial custody by the Patiala House court.
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