Court to pronounce order on Zee editors' plea tomorrow

A Delhi court will give on Saturday its order on two Zee editors' plea to stop police from taking their voice samples by making them read from the transcripts of an audio clip of a sting done by the officials of Congress MP Naveen Jindal's firm in the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion bid case.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mukesh Kumar decided to deliver his verdict on Saturday on the pleas of Zee News Editor Sudhir Chaudhary and Zee business editor Samir Ahluwalia.

The editors in their pleas had said the audio video clip which is the subject matter of probe is in possession of the Crime Branch of the Delhi police and they cannot be asked to read out its transcript.

Opposing their plea, Special Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan had said the two editors were summoned on December 21, 2012, by police to record their voice samples, but they refused to do so on their counsel's advice.

Appearing for the two scribes, Vijay Aggarwal had said the Delhi police had tried to force them to give their voice sample while reading "incriminating lines" from the transcript.

He said if an accused is asked to give a handwriting sample and the matter which he writes contain inculpatory statements, then the same would be hit by Article 20(3) of the Constitution, as then he would be witness against himself.

"This is with regard to handwriting samples. The present case concerns the voice samples. There is no specific provision under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 to deal with the taking of voice sample," he said.