'No criminal antecedents': Shankar Mishra, the man who urinated on co-flyer, applies for bail

Shankar Mishra, the 34-year-old man who had allegedly urinated on a co-passenger onboard an Air India flight between New York and Delhi on November 26 last year, has applied for bail in Delhi's Patiala Court. His bail plea mentioned that he has no criminal antecedents and that "he's not in a position to influence the witnesses".

"The applicant is a respectable working professional and comes from an educated family. The applicant is a responsible individual and a father of a young daughter," stated Mishra's lawyers in the bail plea. 

"The applicant was surprised to receive a text message on December 19, 2022 from the complainant's daughter through the complainant's WhatsApp account directing him not to communicate with them any further. The timing is particularly egregious because at this stage, the scene of the alleged event i.e., the aircraft in question would have obviously been cleaned and therefore completely vitiated," the plea further stated. 

Mishra's lawyers said Mishra's arrest is illegal and is in violation of guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar Vs. State Of Bilhar & Anr case. 

Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday sent Mishra to 14 days judicial custody. The Delhi Police had sought three days of police custody of Shankar Mishra.

Delhi Police had registered an FIR against him on January 4 on a complaint given by the woman to Air India. The police registered an FIR under sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act. Both the accused and the victim are from outside Delhi.

US-based financial services company Wells Fargo on Friday also terminated its employee Shankar Mishra. "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and we find these allegations deeply disturbing. This individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo. We are cooperating with law enforcement and ask that any additional inquiries be directed to them," the company said in a statement.

With inputs from Srishti Ojha