Court fails to hear Joshi`s bail plea due to strike by lawyers

Moradabad, July 17 (PTI) A local court could not take up
this morning the hearing of the bail application of Uttar
Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi,
who is currently in judicial custody for allegedly making
derogatory remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati.

Additional District Judge(II) Sudha Sharma had Thursday
put off the hearing on Joshi's bail application till Friday,
as the case diary could not be submitted by the police.

The hearing, which was scheduled for 10.30 am, could not
be held, as work in the local court was suspended following a
call to strike work by the Bar Council, Allahabad.

Speaking to PTI, defence counsel, Anand Mohan Gupta said,
"We are in constant touch with the District Bar Association,
and seeking their permission, so that we can argue the case."

60-year-old Joshi had approached the court after Chief
Judicial Magistrate KK Shrivastava had turned down her bail
plea and remanded her to judicial custody for 14 days.

Joshi, who was arrested on Wednesday night, has been
booked under section 153 A (delivering inflammatory speeches)
and section 109 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) (using abusive
language) besides provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act for making remarks allegedly defamatory to
Mayawati in connection with her government's compensation to
rape victims. PTI