Delhi Court Denies Bail to Woman Accused of Stealing from HC Premises

Delhi’s Patiala Court recently denied bail to a woman accused of stealing bags, laptops and iPads from the Delhi High Court.

Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Paras Dalal of the Patiala House Court, taking into account the seriousness of the allegations, has ordered that the accused, Bala Saraswati, be placed in judicial custody until August 26.

“Considering the gravity of the allegations, this court deems it appropriate to remand the accused to judicial custody, as the concerns raised by the Investigating Officer are valid. There is a genuine apprehension that if granted bail, the accused might abscond, pose a threat to witnesses, or engage in similar offenses using the same modus operandi,” the order stated.

The court has acknowledged the presence of CCTV footage capturing Saraswati in the act of walking away with a bag. The contention presented by Saraswati, where she denies being the individual depicted in the footage, has been dismissed by the court.

The incident came to light on July 10 when a bag belonging to a law intern, containing a laptop and an iPad, was stolen from outside a courtroom. The court has been informed that Saraswati is implicated in at least one more similar case and may potentially be linked to other comparable incidents.

Police authorities have further indicated that Saraswati exhibited non-cooperative behavior and evaded participation in the investigation. Earlier, she had been placed under police custody for a period of one day.