The High Court of Delhi on Wednesday restrained television channels and all other media organisations from displaying or publishing contents of the charge sheet filed in the Shraddha Walkar murder case, involving her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawalla.
The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar, while passing the order on a petition by Delhi Police, told the media channels or organisations having access to the charge sheet, not to display the same on their channels.
The High Court further directed the Central government to ensure that no channel displayed any such material.
It observed that the order also covered the narco-analysis test and CCTV footage related to the case, implying that such content was also not to be displayed by the media.
Earlier, the Delhi Police had approached the trial court seeking a blanket ban on media houses and channels reporting the charge sheet contents. The trial court directed them to approach the High Court for relief.
Walkar had met Poonawala on dating app Bumble and had entered into a live-in relationship with him. They were initially staying in Mumbai before shifting to Delhi in 2022.
According to police, Poonawala strangulated Walkar on May 18, 2022, after a quarrel in a rented flat in Mehrauli area of Delhi. Aaftab chopped her body into 35 pieces, stored it in a fridge and later dumped it in different parts of the city over the next 18 days.
The Court had allowed the narco-analysis test in the case in November, 2022.