Celeb’s involvement not ground for CBI inquiry, says HC

The Bombay high court on Thursday observed that just because a celebrity was involved, the case could not be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for inquiry.

The Bombay high court on Thursday observed that just because a celebrity was involved, the case could not be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for inquiry.

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The observation came in response to a petition filed by Bollywood starlet Laila Khan’s biological father alleging shoddy investigation by the state police.

Stating there was negligence on the part of the police in promptly probing the disappearance of Khan’s and her family, petitioner Nadir Shah Patel had urged the court to transfer the case from the crime branch to the CBI.

A division bench of justice AM Khanwilkar and justice AR Joshi asked Patel’s lawyer Ejaz Naqvi to justify their plea for a transfer of investigation.

“Just because she is supposed to be a celebrity, the CBI cannot be asked to probe the matter. Give us some formidable ground to show inefficiency on the part of the police,” Khanwilkar said.

“Do you think Maharashtra police is inefficient or biased?” the court asked. Naqvi said the police had taken the matter lightly and also named an officer for not carrying out investigation properly.

The court then pointed out that the petitioner had not made the officer a party to the petition. The judges further pointed out that even within the Maharashtra police, there were various independent investigating agencies.

Naqvi then sought time to amend the petition to make the officer a party.

Adjourning the hearing till August 23, the court warned Naqvi that if the petition was not amended by then, it would be treated as dismissed.