B'day case: Yuvraj exempted from appearance

Gurgaon:

A Gugraon court on Wednesday exempted cricketer Yuvraj Singh from personal appearance in the birthday brawl case.

Co-accused in the case Yuvraj's mother Shabnam Singh also did not appear in the court as she has already been exempted from personal appearance. The court deferred the next date of hearing for Oct 24 next.

Yuvraj Singh, his mother and some of his family friends were booked under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) two days after a brawl took place at the cricketer's DLF City residence in Gurgaon on Dec 13, 2006.

Haryana's former Ranji player, now a Delhi resident Yuvraj Sidharth Mahajan was thrashed by Yuvraj Singh and his friends at the party, Neelam Mahajan the mother of sidharth Mahajan had alleged. She had also alleged that she was also manhandled.

In her complaint, Neelam had also named Yuvraj Singh's friend Ratinder S. Sodhi - an executive with state carrier (then Indian Airlines) and a cricket player, and Ranjit Bajaj, who is the son of the principal secretary of Punjab Bharat Bajaj.

Yuvraj Singh's counsel V. Sehgal on Wednesday said that he moved the court on behalf of his client and sought exemption from his personal appearance on the basis of High court directions. "The court has set Oct 24 as next date of hearing in the case. The complainant in the case Neelam Mahajan also did not appear in the court today," Sehgal said.

Yuvraj Singh and his mother Sabnam Singh were never arrested in the case.