The arrest of five policemen involved in the Sandeep Gadoli false encounter seems imminent after a recent order by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Mumbai..Yesterday, the Esplanade Court rejected the Maharashtra Special Investigation Team’s application for non-bailable warrants against five Haryana policemen and three private persons accused in the case. Public Prosecutor Rajendra Suryavanshi informed the magistrate that the Gurgaon Police was not co-operating in the probe..Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate RK Despande recorded in his order that the accused have been charged with offences that are cognizable, non–bailable and severe in nature, and that the SIT can make arrests under Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure wherein no order or warrant from the magistrate is required..It is another twist in a saga that started on February 7 when Sandeep Gadoli was shot dead by a team from the Gurgaon Police near the Mumbai airport. With the Gurgaon police claiming that Gadoli was a notorious gangster, an FIR was registered in Andheri in ASI Pradyuman Yadav’s name. The FIR stated that that Gadoli had shot at the police to avoid arrest..However, Gadoli’s brother Kuldeep Singh claimed that Gadoli had been killed at the behest of a business rival. Soon thereafter, Singh approached the Bombay High Court seeking an FIR against the Gurgaon police officials involved..Justices Ranjit More and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi passed an order recording Public Prosecutor Sandeep Shinde’s submission that an FIR against members of the Gurgaon Police will be registered..This was subsequently challenged before the apex court, with the Supreme Court quashing the order and asking the Bombay High Court to re-examine the matter after hearing the Gurgaon police. In fact, Justice More later expressed his disapproval of the submissions made in the apex court, saying that the submissions were “factually wrong”..An SIT was formed soon thereafter, which concluded on May 28 that the encounter was fake. This resulted in a change in the FIR, a move that Kuldeep’s lawyer says was incorrect..Speaking to Bar and Bench, Kuldeep’s lawyer Tanveer Nizam said,.As per Section 219 of the Mumbai Police Rules a summary plea should have been filed stating that the initial FIR was false and then a fresh FIR should have been registered. Instead they have insisted on amending the initial FIR..It is not the only inconsistency alleged by Kuldeep. In March this year Kuldeep sought another FIR to be registered against the Gurgaon police. This plea was turned down, with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi arguing that there was no need for multiple FIR’s to be filed..“Also, the victim’s family always cries foul in such matters. If separate FIRs are registered in such a manner then how will the police function? It will be chaotic.”.The matter did not end there, with a petition seeking a judicial enquiry currently being heard in the Supreme Court. Late last month, AG Mukul Rohatgi told the vacation Bench of Justices PC Pant and DY Chandrachud that the charges had been modified to include murder..As for multiple FIR’s being filed, the apex court held that,.“There can be two versions. There can be two FIRs and even two chargesheet can also be filed into an incident.”.The matter will be heard in the Supreme Court on July 13..As for the impending arrest of the Gurgaon police officials, it remains to be seen if it will be challenged before the courts.
The arrest of five policemen involved in the Sandeep Gadoli false encounter seems imminent after a recent order by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Mumbai..Yesterday, the Esplanade Court rejected the Maharashtra Special Investigation Team’s application for non-bailable warrants against five Haryana policemen and three private persons accused in the case. Public Prosecutor Rajendra Suryavanshi informed the magistrate that the Gurgaon Police was not co-operating in the probe..Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate RK Despande recorded in his order that the accused have been charged with offences that are cognizable, non–bailable and severe in nature, and that the SIT can make arrests under Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure wherein no order or warrant from the magistrate is required..It is another twist in a saga that started on February 7 when Sandeep Gadoli was shot dead by a team from the Gurgaon Police near the Mumbai airport. With the Gurgaon police claiming that Gadoli was a notorious gangster, an FIR was registered in Andheri in ASI Pradyuman Yadav’s name. The FIR stated that that Gadoli had shot at the police to avoid arrest..However, Gadoli’s brother Kuldeep Singh claimed that Gadoli had been killed at the behest of a business rival. Soon thereafter, Singh approached the Bombay High Court seeking an FIR against the Gurgaon police officials involved..Justices Ranjit More and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi passed an order recording Public Prosecutor Sandeep Shinde’s submission that an FIR against members of the Gurgaon Police will be registered..This was subsequently challenged before the apex court, with the Supreme Court quashing the order and asking the Bombay High Court to re-examine the matter after hearing the Gurgaon police. In fact, Justice More later expressed his disapproval of the submissions made in the apex court, saying that the submissions were “factually wrong”..An SIT was formed soon thereafter, which concluded on May 28 that the encounter was fake. This resulted in a change in the FIR, a move that Kuldeep’s lawyer says was incorrect..Speaking to Bar and Bench, Kuldeep’s lawyer Tanveer Nizam said,.As per Section 219 of the Mumbai Police Rules a summary plea should have been filed stating that the initial FIR was false and then a fresh FIR should have been registered. Instead they have insisted on amending the initial FIR..It is not the only inconsistency alleged by Kuldeep. In March this year Kuldeep sought another FIR to be registered against the Gurgaon police. This plea was turned down, with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi arguing that there was no need for multiple FIR’s to be filed..“Also, the victim’s family always cries foul in such matters. If separate FIRs are registered in such a manner then how will the police function? It will be chaotic.”.The matter did not end there, with a petition seeking a judicial enquiry currently being heard in the Supreme Court. Late last month, AG Mukul Rohatgi told the vacation Bench of Justices PC Pant and DY Chandrachud that the charges had been modified to include murder..As for multiple FIR’s being filed, the apex court held that,.“There can be two versions. There can be two FIRs and even two chargesheet can also be filed into an incident.”.The matter will be heard in the Supreme Court on July 13..As for the impending arrest of the Gurgaon police officials, it remains to be seen if it will be challenged before the courts.
