Delhi court slams CBI, police over inaction in ‘fake encounter’ case

The court’s censure came in response to the agencies’ failure to act upon an FIR lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Baghpat in 2015, parallel to another case that was initially investigated by the Delhi Police before being transferred to CBI

A Delhi court has criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Delhi Police for their “lack of coordination” that resulted in failure to start an investigation in the alleged fake encounter of Manoj Vashisht inside a city restaurant in 2015.

On May 16, 2015, Manoj Vashisht was fatally shot by a team from the Delhi Police’s Special Cell during a confrontation inside Sagar Ratna restaurant in Rajinder Nagar. (FILE)

Additional chief judicial magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari of the Rouse Avenue Court, in an order on Tuesday, said: “Prima facie, it seems to be a case of lack of coordination between the investigating agencies i.e. the Delhi Police and the CBI, because of which no action could be taken on the FIR till date.”

The court’s censure came in response to the agencies’ failure to act upon an FIR lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Baghpat in 2015, parallel to another case that was initially investigated by the Delhi Police before being transferred to CBI. On February 10, the court had directed the deputy inspector general (DIG) of CBI to file a status report explaining why the Baghpat case had remained untouched.

The court noted that while CBI had filed a closure report in the case transferred from the Delhi Police, there was “not an iota of mention” of the FIR lodged in Baghpat. This omission, it observed, underscored the lack of due diligence in handling the matter.

On May 16, 2015, Vashisht was fatally shot by a team from the Delhi Police’s Special Cell during a confrontation inside Sagar Ratna restaurant in Rajinder Nagar.

The police maintained that a sub-inspector had fired at Vashisht in self-defence after the latter refused to surrender and allegedly opened fire at the police team. Authorities further claimed that Vashisht was a known conman, facing seven cases of cheating, four of which were lodged in Delhi.

Following the encounter, the Delhi Police registered an FIR in May that year, which was later transferred to CBI. The agency subsequently filed a closure report in 2019. Meanwhile, Anil Vashisht, the brother of the deceased, lodged a similar case at the Baghpat Police Station in July 2015, seeking an independent probe into the incident.

On Tuesday, CBI told the court that the then deputy commissioner of police (Central), Delhi Police, had forwarded a photocopy of the Zero FIR (when jurisdiction is not clear) lodged in Baghpat to the agency. CBI contended that a DCP-level officer lacks the authority to transfer an FIR to the agency for investigation, as such a step can only be taken upon the central government’s orders.

CBI further argued that since the case was not referred to it through proper channels, it could not initiate an investigation.

However, the court refused to accept this explanation, stating that the status report failed to clarify why no action had been taken on the FIR despite its transfer to CBI. The judge also pointed out that the agency had not even communicated to either the Delhi Police or the UP Police that the FIR had not been forwarded correctly and, therefore, could not be acted upon.

Taking strong exception to the procedural lapses, the court said it was not within its jurisdiction to direct any action on the Baghpat FIR. It instead allowed the petitioner to approach the relevant district court to seek a status update on the case.

The judge underscored the troubling nature of the situation, observing that an FIR lodged by a family member of the deceased had remained pending with CBI for ten years without any movement.

“Any FIR lodged by an aggrieved person has to be taken to its logical conclusion, and in view of the statutory compulsions, the CBI should have transferred the case to a competent agency for probe,” it said.

The court also found it particularly unfortunate that despite the CBI informing the Delhi Police in February 2021 that it had filed a closure report, purportedly for the Baghpat FIR, the case had remained in limbo.