Ishrat case: SC dismisses Guj ADG's petition

The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition by Gujarat police ADG PP Pandey, challenging the state high court's order, by which it had handed over to the CBI the investigation into Ishrat Jahan and her associates' staged shootout killing.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition by the additional director general of Gujarat police PP Pandey, challenging the state high court's order, by which it had handed over to the CBI the investigation into Ishrat Jahan and her associates' staged shootout killing, and directed registration of a fresh First Information Report (FIR).

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Holding that the high court order had been challenged two years after it was passed, and the charge sheet in the case had already been filed, the apex court bench headed by Justice Gyan Sudha Misra said it was not a fit petition to be entertained.

Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Misra said there were numerous instances wherein high courts, upon finding that the investigation by the state police was not moving in a satisfactory direction, had handed the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and ordered the registration of a fresh FIR.

Having said this, Justice Misra referred to the Nithari case, pointing out that after the matter was first investigated by the Uttar Pradesh police, it was handed over to the CBI.

Nithari in Uttar Pradesh, a village bordering Delhi, made international headlines in 2006, when the skeletons of apparently murdered women and children were recovered. A businessman and his servant were sentenced to death in the case.