A Delhi court has rejected a defence plea seeking preservation and monitoring of CCTV footage outside the homes of two accused in the Aastha Kunj gang rape case, while remanding all three accused to 14 days’ judicial custody. Additional Sessions Judge Swati Sharma listed the matter for October 22.
The plea was moved by counsel for brothers Mukesh and Hemant, who sought preservation of footage from a CCTV camera installed outside their residence. The defence submitted that the recordings could help establish the brothers’ entry and exit timings on the day of the incident.
The prosecution and the additional public prosecutor opposed the request and questioned the defence’s locus standi. The prosecution argued that the alleged incident occurred in a public place and was unrelated to the accused persons’ private residence. It also said the defence could not direct investigators on how the probe should be conducted.
“They have no standing in giving direction as in how the investigation is to be carried out,” the prosecution said, according to the court proceedings reported by the Times of India.
The case relates to an alleged incident on September 21 at Aastha Kunj Park in Delhi. According to the prosecution’s account cited in the report, a girl and her male friend were walking through the park when the accused allegedly posed as policemen and threatened the teenagers with a gun and a knife.
The accused allegedly slapped the boy and sexually assaulted the girl. The allegations are part of the ongoing criminal proceedings and have not been established by a final court verdict.
The CCTV request places surveillance footage from a private residence within the wider dispute over the investigation and the movements of the accused on the day of the alleged offence. The court’s decision means the defence request for preservation and monitoring of that footage has not been accepted at this stage.
The remand order keeps all three accused in judicial custody for 14 days. The next listed hearing is scheduled for October 22, when the court is expected to take up the matter further. The proceedings will determine how the investigation and the defence’s claims regarding movement and evidence develop.
