NDTV's BMW case expose: Anand, Khan found guilty

Delhi High Court has found R K Anand and I U Khan guilty in NDTV's BMW case expose that showed the nexus between defence and prosecution lawyers and a witness in the BMW hit and run case.

Anand and Khan have been convicted in the case for obstructing administration of justice.

A Division Bench headed by Justices Manmohan Sarin and Madan B Lokur has barred R K Anand, I U Khan from appearing in High Court and all Delhi courts for four months.

However, they can practice legal consultancy.

The court has also recommended stripping the convicted lawyers of their designation as senior advocates while imposing Rs 2,000 as fine on them.

Making no bones about their displeasure the two-judge bench of Justices Manmohan Sarin and Madan B Lokur said: "R K Anand and I U Khan on account of their conduct have forfeited the right to enjoy the honour conferred on them by the court of being senior advocates. We recommend to the full court to strip them of their designation as such."

It's the first time in constitutional history that senior lawyers like this have faced such a penalty.

Here are some damning excerpts from the high court's judgement on Thursday.

Court on NDTV BMW expose:

"We are left without a shadow of doubt that Anand who was a key player, was interfering or at least tending to interfere in the due course of judicial proceedings. The unshakable truth is that Anand is guilty of criminal contempt of court. Both Anand and Khan have not tendered any apology."

The court, however, acquitted advocate Bhagwan Saini, associated with the BMW trial, of the contempt charges but cautioned him against indulging in unfair practices.

NDTV's expose caught defence lawyer RK Anand persuading a witness Sunil Kulkarni to change his testimony to save Sanjeev Nanda in collusion with public prosecutor I U Khan.

Sanjeev Nanda allegedly ran over seven people in January 1999, killing six of them. The case is still pending in the lower court and is in the final stages.

Nanda is the grandson of Admiral S M Nanda and son of arms dealer Suresh Nanda and is out on bail at present.

NDTV had submitted DVDs of all edited and unedited footage in court.

Both Anand and Khan said the tapes are doctored. However, both lawyers also contradicted themselves by acknowledging the conversation they had with Kulkarni.

Anand accused NDTV of bribing Kulkarni to frame him.

After viewing the clips, the judges said they were convinced that the tapes were not doctored.

The expose by NDTV had an immediate impact. The public prosecutor was removed the very next day and the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognizance.

The court also called the expose a serious matter, one that points to a "dangerous trend in the criminal justice system".

Later, a contempt of court was filed against Anand and Khan in the High Court. The Delhi Bar Council sent show cause notice to both the lawyers.

Even the Supreme Court turned down Anand's plea to change Justice Manmohan Sarin, one of the two judges hearing the case.

"You can't go bench hunting," the apex court told Anand.