Dwarka crash: Delhi HC rejects mother’s plea to transfer probe to CBI

Delhi High Court dismissed a mother's plea to transfer her son’s death investigation from police to CBI, citing lack of substantial evidence.

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to consider a petition filed by the mother of 23-year-old biker Sahil Dhaneshra seeking transfer of the investigation into her son’s death from the Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), observing that the plea was not maintainable as there was no material on record warranting such a direction.

Dhaneshra died on February 3 near Sector 11 after the SUV, driven by a 17-year-old, rammed into his bike. (PTI)

Dhaneshra died on February 3 near Sector 11 after the SUV, driven by a 17-year-old, rammed into his bike coming from the opposite side as it was trying to overtake a bus.

A bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed that the transfer of investigation from one agency to another is not a matter of right and can be ordered only when there is sufficient material on record warranting such a direction, which was not found in the present case.

In her petition, filed on Saturday, Dhaneshra’s mother, Inna Makkan, had alleged “grave negligence” and “haste” in the investigation being carried out by the Delhi Police in requesting the transfer. In the alternative, she had also requested that the probe be monitored by a senior police officer,

Inna had also submitted that neither the accused’s father nor his sister has been arrayed as an accused so far, despite multiple statements issued by the police in that regard. It was also asserted that the Investigating Officer (IO) has made no arrests, and the evidence submitted by the petitioner has not been verified to date.

On Monday, the judge observed that the petition was general in nature, as it did not specify the names of the officers against whom allegations were made, and noted that the petitioner had the remedy of approaching the trial court to address her grievances.

“You’re coming to me to transfer from this (agency) to this and for me transfer is done when there is some grievous … and you’re just saying according to me, this has happened. These petitions, I am telling you.. I am not entertaining these petitions. This is not maintainable. Transfer is not a matter of right but only done if there is material in the nature that calls for transfer. Here there is nothing,” justice Banerjee said to the mother’s lawyers Pavan Narang and Aman Singh Bakshi.

The judge further said, “Your case is that Delhi police is not conducting free and fair investigation? Show me from your pleading where have you referred… whose names… this is a very general petition. Where is the allegation against them? I am not convinced… what is the lackadaisical approach by the IO (investigating officer) ? Nothing.”

In view of the court’s observations, the mother chose to withdraw the petition and seek appropriate remedies before the trial court for redressal of her grievances, following which the court dismissed the plea as withdrawn.

“The counsel for the petition seeks liberty to withdraw the petition. The petition is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to seek a remedy in accordance with the law. The counsel for the Delhi Police says that the Delhi Police is always there to offer their services of any nature if and when required,” the court said in the order.

After the accident, the minor, who did not possess a driver’s licence, was apprehended from the spot and sent to an observation home. Police registered a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) dealing with rash and negligent driving, causing death by negligence, and endangering human life. While the 17-year-old initially claimed he was an adult, police later found he was a minor.

The SUV is owned by his 47-year-old father, whi has also been charge-sheeted under Section 180 (allowing unauthorised persons to drive vehicles) and 199A (offences by juveniles) of the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA). The chargesheet, filed on February, 14, said, “The CCTV footage (of the crash) clearly depicts the offender’s vehicle being driven in an improper, reckless, and high-speed manner.”

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) earlier in March granted bail to the minor, observing that justice will still be met if the accused is let out. Principal magistrate Chitranshi Arora, in a 16-page order, noted that lack of adequate parental supervision had contributed to the incident.