A court here Friday dropped charges of abetment to murder and others against former parliamentarian Dhananjay Singh in the maid torture case, but ordered charges of destruction of evidence be framed against him.
Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal, dropping the charge of abetment to murder and others against Singh, however, found prime facie evidence against his wife Jagriti Singh related to the torture and murder of the maid.
The court fixed Saturday for formally framing the charges.
It also found prima facie evidence against Jagriti under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, wrongful confinment for 10 or more days, unlawful compulsory labour, and destruction of evidence.
However, she will not face charges of attempt to murder, punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, unnatural offences and buying or disposing of any person as a slave.
The court discharged Dhananjay Singh for the alleged offences of intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform, punishment of abetment of offence, read with murder, criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder.
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Singh's counsel and advocate S.P.M Tripathi, during argument on charges, said that it was his client who had informed police about the incident and he was not in Delhi between November 1 to November 4, 2013 when the incident took place.
Police in the charge sheet had alleged Jagriti used to give "merciless beatings" to her three domestic help and "compelled" the servants to work by holding them captive.
Police also claimed Singh and his wife might have "tampered" with the data of the CCTV cameras installed at 175, South Avenue.
The former MP from Jaunpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh is out on bail while Jagriti, a dental surgeon at a government hospital here, is lodged in Tihar Jail.
Singh, accused along with his wife for the alleged torture and murder of their maid, was charge sheeted on February 1 last year for various offences, including destroying evidence, abetting murder and attempt to murder.