Lawyers suspect ‘black magic' as murder accused surgeon throws rice on court floor during hearing

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a day ago

Chander Vibhas, a surgeon, accused in a 2011 murder case, lodged at Delhi's Hari Nagar police station and facing his trial now, threw rice on the courtroom floor on 11 August, according to the order. When questioned, the surgeon mentioned that he had been eating rice, which had fallen out of his palms, but he failed to explain to the court why he was carrying the rice to court during a hearing.
New Delhi: A surgeon was fined Rs 2,000 by a Tis Hazari court in Delhi for throwing rice on the courtroom floor during proceedings, which came to a halt as the lawyers present hesitated to approach the dias.
The court then directed him to collect the rice from the floor and called for a sweeper, with the court proceedings thereafter delayed by 15 to 20 minutes.
'Till the time the sweeper comes, the court proceedings have been halted at the request of Ld. counsels present in the court since they suspect black magic by the accused. The sweeper has come after 10 minutes and cleaned the floor,' the court said. 'The act done by the accused, if it goes unchecked, will erode the court's ability to function.'
The court said that the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013, also 'prohibited and criminalised such practices'.
Similarly, some rice reportedly lay on the courtroom floor on 2 August. In a response to the court on 10 August, the surgeon, however, claimed that he attended the previous hearing via a video conference only. The court reader, however, contradicted him, saying that according to the order sheet of that day, Vibhas was physically present before the court on 2 August.
Additional Sessions Judge Shefali Barnala Tandon noted that the doctor violated Section 267 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023—causing intentional insult or interruption to a public servant during judicial proceedings—and convicted him for that offence.
ASJ Tandon said the courtroom is 'a space where justice is sought and delivered', and its 'dignity is essential for the rule of law'. 'Disrespect towards the court or disruption of judicial proceedings sends a damaging public message, and such overt act/behaviour of [the] accused today not only disrupted the court proceedings and undermines the judicial process but also threatens the very foundation of our legal system,' ASJ Tandon added.
The accused pleaded guilty and apologised for his conduct, and his counsel submitted that Vibhas felt remorse for his actions and guaranteed he would not repeat the action in the future. The counsel also said that someone had been misguiding the accused.
'This is very shocking and surprising to the court that the present accused Dr Chander Vibhas, stated to be a surgeon by profession and belonging to the educated and elite class, has acted in such an unreasonable manner and created an interruption in court proceedings,' the court noted.
'Accordingly, this court is constrained to take cognisance of the offence under Section 267 BNS, 2023, against accused Dr Chander Vibhas since proceedings were halted for about 15-20 minutes, and it (his case) is triable by this very court where the said offence has been committed,' the court added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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