Court refuses to return confiscated gadgets in Fadnavis bribery case

A special court has rejected Aniksha Jaisinghani’s plea seeking return of her seized electronic gadgets. Jaisinghani is accused of threatening and attempting to bribe Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The Anti Corruption Board (ACB) court, in its August 16 order, directed the police to expedite the forensic examination of the gadgets. Jaisinghani argued that she needed access to her devices for her defence, but the court maintained that their return could risk tampering with evidence.

The police said that due to a backlog in the Forensic Science Laboratory, it would take more time to complete the data analysis. The case pertains to an alleged scheme in which Jaisinghani impersonated a designer and threatened Amruta Fadnavis to reveal compromising data if she was not paid Rs 10 crore and her father was not cleared of the charges.

(Based on information from the agency.)