Dera castration case witness denied permission to depose from US home

Chandigarh: A special CBI court in Panchkula has rejected a prosecution witness's request to record his testimony from his residence in the United States through video conferencing in the alleged forced castration case involving Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and two doctors.The court also declined the witness's plea seeking a six-week gap between hearings.Special judicial magistrate (CBI) Anil Kumar Yadav passed the order while hearing the case related to the alleged castration of sadhus at the Sirsa-based dera.According to the order, the witness, identified as PW-2, emailed the court seeking permission to join proceedings through video conferencing from his US residence and requested changes in the hearing schedule.The court observed that the witness had not disclosed his exact residential address in the US, making it difficult to coordinate with the nearest Indian embassy or consulate for facilitating recording of evidence through video conferencing.The magistrate directed the witness to furnish his correct residential address or details of the nearest Indian mission within 24 hours.Rejecting the plea for a six-week interval between hearings, the court referred to Supreme Court directions stressing expeditious trial proceedings.The court also clarified that recording evidence directly from a witness's residence through video conferencing was not permissible under existing rules.The matter has now been posted for prosecution evidence on June 8.