Air India urination row: accused says act not driven by sexual desire

Shankar Mishra, the man accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger on an Air India flight, told a Delhi court on Wednesday his act was not driven by sexual desire nor aimed at outraging the complainant's modesty, as he sought bail in the case.

The complainant's counsel opposed Mishra's bail application, claiming she was being threatened.

“I'm regularly receiving messages, threatening me. Accused's father sent me a message and said 'karma will hit you' and then deleted the message. They're sending me messages and deleting it. This needs to stop... Air India instead of separating the accused and complainant, tried to mediate the crime,” the counsel said.

Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg reserved the order on the bail application of Mishra.

“Nobody should have to go through something like that. It was revolting. I feel bad for the poor lady. It was appalling… However, was the unzipping aimed at sexual desire? No. Was any of this act aimed at outraging her modesty? No,” the counsel for the accused said, while fervently appealing for bail.

He added the driving force behind the incident was not “guided by lust. And the complainant's complaint at the time does not claim that.” Mishra's counsel referred to his plight after the sordid episode on the flight from New York to New Delhi on November 26 last year.

“He has already suffered. He's sacked from job. He is not a flight risk (at risk of fleeing),” he said.

The Delhi police opposed the bail application, saying it was highly probable that if released on bail, he will influence the complainant since he is from an influential and rich background. “(His) Mother and sister tried to contact the complainant,” police told the court.

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The police also informed the court it has filed a revision petition against the denial of the accused's custody.

“Many witnesses are to be examined, including the captain and cabin crew,” it said.

A sessions court is likely to take up the matter later in the day.

The counsel appearing the the complainant, meanwhile, alleged the accused offended her, “and has the audacity to say I was not a victim. I had sought FIR. It was based on his influence that the FIR was not registered.” He added that the complainant is unable to stay in Bangalore. “They're threatening me. Not only by messages but by coming to my house,” her counsel alleged.

The counsel for the accused, however, contested the claim of threat made by the complainant's lawyer.

“Her (the victim woman's) son-in-law, a New York-based professor, wrote me a mail saying I was to pay the full plane fare. I had paid for dry cleaning. But after the mail from son-in-law, the money (the accused had paid by way of compensation) was returned.” After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its order on the bail application.

A magisterial court had sent Mishra to 14-day judicial remand on Saturday denying police his custody.