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Will hand over 2020 Palghar lynching case to CBI, Maharashtra to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recorded Maharashtra’s submission that it will hand over the investigation to CBI. “In view of this statement, no further directions are required at this stage,” the court said
NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that the state has decided to hand over the probe into the 2020 Palghar lynching case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on its own and therefore, no orders from the court were required.
The decision of the Eknath Shinde-government government came almost a month after the top court observed that the state government should write on its own to the Centre for a CBI probe into the incident in view of the state’s willingness to let the federal agency take over the probe.
Two Hindu seers from Juna Akhara were lynched in April 2020 by a frenzied mob in the satellite town of Palghar, 100 km from Mumbai.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasima wrapped up a bunch of petitions that sought a CBI probe after recording the state government’s submission.
“A decision has been taken by the state government to entrust this investigation to CBI. In view of this statement, no further directions are required at this stage. All pending petitions are disposed of,” said the bench in its brief order after taking note of the statement made by advocate Siddharth Dharmadhikari on behalf of the Maharashtra government.
With a change in the political dispensation in the state, the Maharashtra government in November reversed its stand before the apex court by expressing its willingness to hand over the probe into the Palghar lynching case to the CBI.
While the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray in July 2020 opposed the petitions demanding a CBI probe, the new government headed by Eknath Shinde said it has no objection to the central agency taking over the probe and the prosecution.
“The petitioners have sought transfer of investigation to the CBI, in as much as according to them, it is imperative for achieving an impartial and independent investigation in the matter...the State of Maharashtra is ready and willing to hand over the investigation to the CBI and would have no objection for the same,” said the state’s affidavit filed in the second week of November.
The Uddhav Thackeray government earlier took the stand that the CBI probe was not required as “enough has been done” and the case was transferred to the specialised unit of the state CID to maintain complete fairness, independence and transparency in the investigation.
After the state opposed the CBI probe, the court in August 2020 asked for inquiry reports, and details of the investigation, and asked the police to submit the charge sheet before it for scrutiny. The case has not been effectively heard in the last two years.
Meanwhile, following a dramatic turn of events sparked off by a group of rebel MLAs led by Shinde, Uddhav resigned on June 29 last year as the state’s chief minister. Shinde, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took over as CM on the very next day.
On the night of April 16, Mahant Kalpavruksha Giri and Sushilgiri Maharaj and their driver were travelling from Kandivali in Mumbai to attend a funeral in Gujarat amid the nationwide lockdown. They were lynched by a mob that allegedly suspected them to be child kidnappers after they reached Gadchinchale village in Palghar. Later, some videos emerged showing that a group of policemen had reached the spot but failed to pacify the mob and protect the three victims.
An array of petitioners, including Juna Akhara seers, relatives of the victims and advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, moved the Supreme Court contending that they have no faith in the Maharashtra government or the local police, and also do not expect a fair and just investigation into the case because of the involvement of policemen in the case. The petition for the Juna Akhara seers was filed in May 2020 through advocate Balaji Srinivasan.
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