Rao exempted from court appearance

Rao exempted from court appearance

NEW DELHI (Reuter): An Indian court yesterday ruled that former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao did not have to appear at a court hearing next week in a criminal forgery case, United News of India (UNI) said.

Rao's lawyers had argued that police could not protect against the threat of attack by extremists if Rao appeared at a crowded local court, and that the former prime minister could be represented by counsel at the Oct. 14 hearing.

The news agency did not say whether the ruling exempting Rao from having to appear in court would apply to any hearings in the case held after Oct. 14. The order by chief magistrate Prem Kumar was the second small victory for Rao yesterday.

Earlier, the Supreme Court ordered the hearing into the seven- year-old forgery case, as well as a hearing into a separate criminal cheating case also involving Rao, shifted from a crowded court to a more secure location.