Shraddha Walkar murder: Delhi Court restrains Aaj Tak from running Aaftab Poonawala narcoanalysis audio

A Delhi court on Monday temporarily restrained television network Aaj Tak from telecasting the narcoanalysis test (lie-detection) recordings and transcripts of Aaftab Poonawalla, the man accused of brutally killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar [State v Aaftab Amin Poonawala]..The order was passed by Judge Rakesh Kumar Singh of the Saket District Court in an application seeking orders to Aaj Tak as well as other media channels to refrain from telecasting materials related to the First Information Report (FIR).“When the Article 21 of the Constitution protects the life and liberty of a person, it also contemplates a protection of psychological state of mind of such person. Any dissemination of sensitive information pertaining to a murder case will definitely result in psychological repercussions on the accused and also on the victim's family,” the court reasoned. .The judge however opined that the application required to be heard at length for both the parties to make their case. Thus, while restraining the news channel from telecasting the clips for the time being, the Court directed the state to serve a copy of the application to them and allowed Aaj Tak to file its reply. .In their application, the prosecutors submitted that the telecast of the audio would not only damage the case but also impact the victim’s family. Further, it was stated that the law and order situation may be impacted as well. Additionally, it was argued that the transcripts had already been made a part of the court record and as a result, no one could utilise anything without the court’s permission. .Considering these submissions, along with the rights of both parties, Aaj Tak was restrained from running the clips till April 17 when the case will be taken up for a detailed hearing. .The accused and deceased woman had met on dating app Bumble and had entered into a live-in relationship. They were initially based out of Mumbai before shifting to Delhi last year.According to police investigating the crime, on May 18 after a quarrel between the couple in a rented flat in Mehrauli, the accused strangulated victim, then chopped her body into 35 pieces, stored it in a fridge and later dumped them in different parts of the city over the next 18 days..The court had allowed narcoanalysis in November last year. .Chief Public Prosecutor Vinod Sharma and Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad appeared for the State. .[Read Order]