Supreme Court rejects plea to direct Bombay High Court to resume monitoring Narendra Dabholkar murder case

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to direct the Bombay High Court to resume monitoring the probe and trial concerning the murder of rationalist and activist, Narendra Dabholkar [Mukta Dabholkar vs Central Bureau of Investigation and ors]..A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma stated that is was prima facie not inclined to interfere in the matter.The Court, however, left it open to the petitioners to provide any material that may be useful for the progress of the case..The top court was hearing a plea challenging a Bombay High Court order dated April 18, 2023, whereby the High Court had decided to discontinue monitoring the progress in the case.A High Court bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik had opined that further monitoring of the investigation would not be necessary since the chargesheet has been filed and and the trial was underway.Dabholkar, the founder and head of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, an anti-superstition outfit, was shot dead in August 2013, allegedly by members of a radical outfit called Sanatan Sanstha. After taking over the investigation in 2014, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet against five persons accused in the murder case..Appearing for petitioners who wanted the High Court to continue monitoring the matter, Senior Advocate Anand Grover today told the Supreme Court that the High Court had stopped monitoring the case before the larger conspiracy angle to the matter could be probed..Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CBI submitted that the cross examination in the trial was ongoing. She submitted that the agency would not abandon the case and that the trial was reaching its conclusion. .The trial in the case commenced in September 2021 after charges were framed against all five accused.Before this, in 2015, Dabholkar's daughter and son moved the High Court seeking the appointment of an independent Special Investigation Team and for the court to monitor the investigation.Since August 2015, the High Court has been monitoring the investigation.In December 2022, Virendrasinh Tawade, the prime accused in the murder and conspiracy case, moved the High Court with an interim application to discontinue such monitoring. He contended that since the trial in the murder case has commenced, the High Court could stop monitoring the case.Another accused also moved the Court subsequently with a similar prayer.The High Court eventually expressed that it could not perpetually monitor the case.Upon a direction to submit the status of the investigation, the CBI informed the Court that the investigation in the case was complete and that a completion report has been filed.In February 2023, the investigating agency also told the Court that the trial could be concluded in two months, if it is expedited. The CBI added that out of 32 witnesses, about 8 witnesses remained to be examined and that this would not take a long time.Under these circumstances and considering the precedents set by the Supreme Court with regard to court monitoring of investigation, the High Court had decided that further monitoring was not required.