Criminal lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, who remains behind bars in London after his arrest last month on charges of sexual assault, faces an additional allegation of rape, a UK court was told on Thursday.Aggarwal, who has represented fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in fraud and money-laundering proceedings, appeared before Justice Nathaniel Rudolf at Southwark Crown Court, charged with four counts of sexual assault for a plea and trial preparation hearing.His assistant, Manpreet Kaur, also appeared alongside in the dock, charged with two counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting sexual assault. They spoke only to confirm their names and are set to remain in prison until the start of their trial, which has been set for March 15 next year, unless they are granted bail in the interim.At Thursday’s hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) sought an adjournment until next month before filing an indictment in the case due to the “complex” nature of the police investigation.”This is an ongoing inquiry relating to a series of alleged sexual offences involving three complainants,” CPS barrister Oliver Weetch told the judge. He said that the “complexity of the case and ongoing inquiries” indicated at least one other complainant who alleges “sexual intercourse” and the likelihood of “other participants and/or complainants”.Aggarwal’s barrister, Sasha Wass, described Aggarwal as a man of “exemplary good character” who has been held at Wandsworth prison in south-west London for nearly a month now.She sought a written document detailing the charges against him, objections to his bail and the state of the police investigation from the CPS as a matter of “urgency for the defence to make a “meaningful application for bail”.The judge said he was “not minded” to adjourn proceedings until October 2, as sought by the CPS, and set September 23 as the date for the indictment to be filed along with the document sought by the defence.Kaur’s barrister, Catherine Drummond, described her client as a woman of “exemplary good character” who was being “prejudiced” by the delay in charges being crystallised and her bail application being blocked by “vague objections”.”Unfortunately, the court is not in a position to seek your pleas of guilty or not guilty at this stage,” Judge Rudolf told Aggarwal and Kaur.He issued the pair with the court’s customary warnings of additional sanctions if they fail to attend hearings and gave them a deadline of February 13, 2027, to produce a “defence statement” with their lawyers outlining their side of the story.Earlier, the judge accepted a request to allow members of Aggarwal’s family and Kaur’s husband to attend the hearing via a virtual link from India.Aggarwal, 57, a prominent advocate, and Kaur, 41, were arrested at a property on Brick Street in the posh Mayfair area of London on August 11 over alleged sexual offences on May 26 and August 9.While Aggarwal has been charged with “four counts of sexual assault”, Kaur was charged with “two counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an either way offence, namely sexual assault”.”Two women who reported the sexual assaults continue to be supported by specialist officers,” the Metropolitan Police said at the time of the arrests last month.The 29 Brick Street property is listed online as a “Mayfair Residence Townhouse”, made up of multi-storey luxury apartments that are available for rent.