NEW DELHI: The couple accused of hurling racial slurs at their neighbours from Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur told a Delhi court on Monday that it was “merely a spontaneous dispute” between two neighbours, not a case of racial discrimination.
The couple, Harsh Priya Singh and Ruby Jain, made the submissions before Additional Sessions Judge Samar Vishal during the hearing of their bail applications. The judge reserved the order for Tuesday.
They told the judge that in the dispute, both parties used questionable language and derogatory remarks, and they did not racially discriminate against the alleged victims.
“It was not a case of racial discrimination that attracted the charges under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the accused were not aware that the complainants were tribal. They did not use any language specifically targeting their tribal identity,” the counsel representing the couple said.
The accused were arrested on February 25 in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area. The counsel claimed that the dispute occurred within their rented accommodation, which was not a “public place”, as per the essential terms of an offence under Section 3 of the SC/ST Act.
The counsel also said that there was no further requirement of custodial interrogation since all the evidence were submitted, and they were ready to join the probe. He further claimed that one of the accused, Ruby Jain, was suffering from several ailments, and her health had deteriorated in jail.
According to the prosecution, the accused couple made abusive and derogatory remarks against the three women from Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur during a row over debris from the installation of an air conditioner.
4 held for assault
In a different case, Delhi Police held four juveniles for allegedly assaulting a Manipur woman who objected to comments at a park near Saket district court. The incident took place on Sunday when the victim was walking in a park along with her friend.