Flight attendant case : ‘No interim relief, not possible’: HC to in-laws

 New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to grant interim bail to the in-laws of a flight attendant, who had allegedly committed suicide in July, to be with their family on the occasion of Diwali.

Justice Mukta Gupta issued notice to the Delhi Police on the bail petitions of the in-laws, who had surrendered Thursday and asked the agency to file a status report. "No interim relief, not possible," the judge said and listed the bail pleas for further hearing on November 16. 

Flight attendant Anissia Batra's parents-in-laws R S Singhvi and Sushma Singhvi approached the high court after their bail applications were rejected by a trial court on Thursday. 

Anissia (39), wife of Mayank Singhvi, worked with a German airline. She allegedly jumped from the terrace of her house in Panchsheel Park in South Delhi on July 13. Mayank rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead. Mayank, who was married to Anissia for over two years, was arrested on July 16. 

Anissia's family has alleged that her husband used to physically abuse her and often demand money. The family has claimed before the trial court that it was not a suicide, but murder. 

Senior advocates A M Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the in-laws, said they were not living with their son and daughter-in-law, and have no role in the alleged offence. 

The counsel orally prayed for interim bail for a week for R S Singhvi and Sushma Singhvi to be with their family on the occasion of Diwali and said the couple would surrender thereafter. The counsel said the couple was in advanced age, and the woman has to undergo breast cancer surgery in January.

 When the advocate said that two charge-sheets have already been filed and no investigation was required at this stage and they have fully cooperated with the probe agency, the court said, "That is okay, but there is something called seriousness of the offence".

The couple, who was on Thursday sent to one-day police custody, was remanded to judicial custody Friday by a trial court, the counsel said. Mayank's parents were earlier denied anticipatory bail by the high court.

Before jumping off the terrace, she had sent a message to her husband that she would kill herself, police had said earlier. The husband, a software engineer in Gurgaon, had told the police that they had regular fights due to "compatibility issues". They had an argument on the day of the incident as well, following which she jumped from the terrace, police had said. 

The victim's family had also given a complaint to police on June 27, saying that if anything happens to their daughter, Mayank would be responsible, police had said.