Overview
- The court on July 8 accepted an application from accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala that his final MA Sociology exam would be held inside Central Jail No. 3, Tihar, and removed the July 20 hearing from the calendar.
- Prosecution evidence will restart at 2 p.m. on July 21 and the other dates set earlier will continue, replacing the day-to-day block that had been fixed from July 20 to July 25.
- The trial remains active: the prosecution says 13 witnesses’ chief examinations are partly recorded, testimony of 12 witnesses was deferred, and eight witnesses still need to be examined.
- Shraddha Walkar’s family and their lawyer criticised the exemption as a delay tactic and said they may move the Delhi High Court to seek a speedy trial and resolution of case property issues.
- Under Indian prison rules, undertrial inmates can pursue education and IGNOU runs exam centres in some jails; the scheduling decision spotlights the court’s duty to balance an accused person’s rights with victims’ demand for timely justice.