Jha was remanded to judicial custody on January 10, 2022, after the Court was informed that he had contracted COVID. He was in police custody until then.
The Mumbai Police had then filed a fresh application seeking police custody once Jha is out of quarantine period.
The application stated that after his “medical custody”, he could remanded to police custody so that they could complete investigation on the electronic devices seized from him.
The application stated that the police may require a One-Time Password (OTP) from him and wanted to probe into the fake social media accounts and ProtonMail that may have been used for communication.
While granting time to Jha to respond to the application, Metropolitan Magistrate Komalsing Rajput observed in his order of January 10, that “the contents of the application and the practice followed by the Investigation Officer was not as per law.”
In response to that plea, Jha has claimed in his reply that the Investigating Officer had conceded to Jha’s judicial custody which had been recorded in the order.
After the said order, Jha moved for bail, and the agency was directed to file its response, it was pointed out.
Hence, the application by the Mumbai Police was frivolous in law and ought to be rejected, Jha contended.
Source: Barandbench
