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SC seeks govt reply on bail plea of ex-cop in 2006 fake encounter case
The Supreme Court on Monday gave relief to former Mumbai Police cop Pradeep Sharma from surrendering in a 2006 case where he was sentenced to life imprisonment
The Supreme Court on Monday gave relief to former Mumbai Police cop Pradeep Sharma from surrendering in a 2006 case where he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bombay high court which reversed his acquittal last month and directed surrender within three weeks.
A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and PK Mishra passed the order while issuing notice on an appeal filed by Sharma challenging the March 19 HC order. Issuing notice to the Maharashtra government and the complainant Ramprasad Vishwanth Gupta, the bench said, “As the high court has stipulated three weeks for surrender, until the next date, petitioner may not surrender.” The matter has been kept after four weeks.
Sharma was accused of the murder of Ram Narayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhhaiya, an alleged member of the Chhota Rajan gang. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra appearing for the former cop and encounter specialist told the court that the alleged incident took place on November 11, 2006 but the petitioner was arrested in this case only in January 2010.
Rohatgi said, “I was heading a team of police officers and the only evidence to link me with the crime was the recovery of an empty and bullet from the body of one of the deceased that was traced to his service revolver.” According to him, there were no witnesses who testified to his presence at the scene of crime.
The trial court in July 2013 acquitted Sharma against which an appeal was filed in the high court by the state government. By a detailed judgment, the high court reversed the acquittal and directed him to surrender. Sharma filed his appeal in the top court under the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate) Jurisdiction Act, 1970 which provides for an appeal against any judgment of the high court which has on appeal, “reversed an order of acquittal” and sentenced the accused to imprisonment for life or to imprisonment for a period of not less than ten years.
The complainant represented by advocate Yug Chaudhary opposed the grant of any relief to the officer claiming that he is accused in other crimes as well, including the Antilia bomb scare case in February 2021 where a vehicle loaded with explosives was found parked outside the residence of businessman Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai. The owner of the car in question, businessman Mansukh Hiran was found murdered days later in which Sharma is an accused.
Chaudhary said, “He committed this crime when he was out of service. So age is not a bar for him to commit crime.” Further, he added, “During the trial of the 2006 murder case, the magistrate was threatened by the petitioner’s associates. The HC judgment records that his lawyers had even threatened the witnesses. This shows how powerful he is.”
The court told Chaudhary, “Since it is a case of reversal of acquittal by the high court, it is a statutory appeal which we have to admit.”
The HC order running into 867 pages discussed the entire case in great detail to conclude that Gupta was killed by “trigger happy cops”. Along with Sharma, 12 other policemen was convicted while the acquittal of six policemen was upheld.
The HC said, “Instead of upholding the rule of law, the police have misused their position and uniform, and have killed Ramnarayan in cold blood.” Regardless of the fact that 10 cases were pending against Gupta, the HC said that this fact did not give any license for the cops to kill him. “There can be no room for leniency as persons involved are the arm of the state whose duty is to protect citizens and not to take law into their hands,” the HC had held.
