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HC pulls cops in Jessica Lall case
The Delhi HC on Friday pulled up the city police for filing an FIR when it had sought a status report on the "shoddy" investigation by its officers into the Jessica Lall murder case.
The Delhi High Court on Friday pulled up the city police for filing an FIR when it had sought a status report on the "shoddy" investigation by its officers into the Jessica Lall murder case.
"What made you (Delhi Police) to jump to file an FIR when the status report was sought by this Court after taking suo motu cognisance in the matter," a Division Bench comprising Justice RS Sodhi and Justice HR Malhotra said.
"You are trying to derail the whole thing, which we would not allow you to do," the Bench said while observing that after filing the FIR, the matter would come within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate.
"I am not using the term in larger cause but it appears to be a conspiracy," the Court observed when the Police, while filing SIT report in a sealed cover, said it was for the larger cause that the FIR was filed.
Taking suo motu cognisance on the lacunae in the investigation done in Jessical Lall murder case, the High Court had issued notice to the Delhi Police on March 24 last year.
After the court's intervention, the Delhi Police in March last year had registered an FIR to investigate the role of those erring officers in the case.
On April 19, last year, the SIT's first report was submitted before the Bench with regard to the allegations that the evidence in the case was tampered by the accused in connivance with the police.
