Former Aam Aadmi Party legislator Prakash Jarwal has approached the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction in a 2020 case of abetment to suicide.
The trial court had convicted Jarwal and co-accused Kapil Nagar in February 2024 for allegedly driving Dr. Rajendra Singh, a water-tanker operator, to take his own life.
The petition came up for hearing before Justice Ravinder Dudeja (Special MP/MLA Court). At the request of Senior Advocate N. Hariharan, the matter was transferred to another bench presided over by Justice Amit Mahajan, which is already hearing a related petition in the same case.
Hariharan argued that since Kapil Nagar’s petition was pending before Justice Mahajan, Jarwal’s plea should also be heard by the same bench. The court had earlier directed the trial court not to proceed with sentencing arguments until further orders.
Conviction By Rouse Avenue Court
On February 28, 2024, Special Judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court convicted Jarwal and Nagar for offences of abetment to suicide, extortion, attempt to extortion, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy.
They were held guilty under Section 506 (Part II) IPC for criminal intimidation to kill, which carries a maximum punishment of seven years. The judge observed that the prosecution had successfully proven the allegations “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The third accused, Harish Jarwal, was convicted only for criminal intimidation. However, the High Court later quashed both the case and the conviction against him.
Allegations
The case stems from an FIR lodged at Neb Sarai police station in April 2020 on a complaint by Hemant Singh, the son of the deceased doctor.
Hemant alleged that his father, who had been supplying water tankers since 2005, was extorted after Jarwal became an MLA and a member of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
According to the complaint, Regular payments were allegedly demanded by Jarwal through Nagar in exchange for allowing tanker operations with DJB.
When Dr. Singh refused, his tankers were removed from DJB service, and his payments were withheld.
The doctor repeatedly wrote in his diary about the harassment, extortion, and threats, noting the money handed over. Despite being a heart patient, he was allegedly harassed continuously, with threats to “destroy” him if payments stopped.
Hemant claimed his father even sold ancestral land and mortgaged jewellery to meet the extortion demands.
Phone recordings and complaints filed with DJB officials were also cited as evidence of harassment.
Charges Framed Earlier
On November 11, 2021, the trial court framed charges under multiple IPC provisions, including:
- Sections 306/34 (abetment to suicide with common intention)
- Sections 384 & 386 (extortion)
- Section 506 (criminal intimidation)
- Section 120B (criminal conspiracy)
Jarwal and Nagar faced the bulk of these charges, while Harish Jarwal was discharged from abetment and extortion charges but stood trial for intimidation.
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