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Under Shinde, Maharashtra agrees to let CBI probe Palghar case
Two Hindu seers from Juna Akhara were lynched in April 2020 by a frenzied mob in the satellite town of Palghar, close to 100 km from Mumbai
With a change in the political dispensation in the state, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday reversed its stand before the Supreme Court by expressing its willingness to hand over the probe into the 2020 Palghar lynching case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Two Hindu seers from Juna Akhara were lynched in April 2020 by a frenzied mob in the satellite town of Palghar, close to 100 km from Mumbai.
While the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray had in July 2020 opposed a clutch of petitions demanding a transfer of the investigation to CBI, the new government headed by Eknath Shinde has submitted that 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 new affidavit.
It further pointed out that the two charge sheets filed in the case against over a hundred accused and the details of the action taken against the erring policemen have already brought on record through a previous affidavit.
The additional affidavit was filed by the state on Tuesday to apprise a bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli of the change in the state’s stance in the matter.
While responding to a batch of petitions in July 2020, the Thackeray-government told the court that the CBI probe is not required as “enough has been done” and the case has already been transferred to the specialised unit of the state CID to maintain the complete fairness, independence and transparency in the investigation.
After the state opposed the CBI probe, the court had in August 2020 asked for inquiry reports, details of the investigation and asked the police to submit the charge sheet in the case 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, Thackeray resigned on June 29 as 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.
Admitting Jha’s petition, the top court had on May 1, 2020 issued a notice to the Maharashtra government and asked the state to also submit a report regarding the status of the investigation.
