CHANDIGARH: Haryana Additional Advocate General Naveen Kaushik was today asked to resign after he was accused of helping the counsel of a man allegedly involved in the killing of 17-year-old Junaid Khan on a train in June, AG Baldev Raj Mahajan said today.
However, Kaushik in his explanation to Advocate General Mahajan denied providing any assistance to the counsel.
The Haryana AG had sought an explanation from the additional AG following media reports alleging that he had provided assistance to the defence counsel of the prime accused in the Junaid Khan murder case.
"After media reports, I sought explanation from him (Kaushik) to which he replied that he is associated with an organisation working for the promotion of different Indian languages. He (Kaushik) said he had supplied material to the concerned counsel in this case and did not assist him,"
Mahajan told reporters here.
"Since he (Kaushik) admitted that he went to the (Faridabad) court and supplied documents to the counsel, I told him that it is a case in which the state is a party and he must tender his resignation," the AG said.
Mahajan said he asked him to resign and recommended to the government to accept his resignation.
His assistance to the counsel is not justified, even though he submitted that he did not assist in the case.
However, the (Faridabad) court observed that he was present during the hearing," he said.
Additional district and sessions judge Faridabad Y S Rathore in his interim order on October 25 had reportedly stated that Kaushik was assisting the counsel of the main accused, Naresh Kumar, during the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses.
Junaid, on board a Mathura-bound train, was stabbed to death when he, along with his brothers, was returning home to Khandawli village after shopping for Eid in Delhi.
His body was dumped close to Asaoti village in Faridabad district.