New Delhi, Aug. 13 -- The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the accused's right to be heard by the trial court before it takes cognizance of a chargesheet. The order came on pleas filed by Lakshay Vij and nine other accused in a money laundering case.

Justice Ravinder Dudeja allowed ten petitions seeking enforcement of the right to be heard before cognizance.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had also upheld the provision under Section 223 BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), 2023.

While deciding the petition of Kushal Kumar Agarwal on May 9, 2025, the Supreme Court had said, "We direct the appellant to appear before the Special Court on 14th July, 2025, so that he can be given an opportunity of being heard in terms of the proviso to...