The Bombay High Court on Thursday expressed displeasure over the pace of probe into the killing of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, asking whether the Chief Minister does not have time to take stock of the cases.
It is shameful that almost every investigation requires the court’s intervention, a Bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and B.P. Colabawala said.
The CBI is probing the Dabholkar killing, while the State CID is probing the Pansare case. “What is the CM doing? He holds 11 portfolios, including Home, but does not find the time to take stock of the cases. His deputies do not have the time to remove obstacles in the probe?” the court said.
Noting that a political leader belongs to the State and not just any party, the Bench said, “It is a sovereign function and cannot be outsourced.”
Govind Pansare
The court made the remarks after CID lawyer Ashok Mundargi submitted that the agency had doubled the strength of the Special Investigation Team probing the Pansare case. He said there are now 35 officers in the team. “Top officers have recently reviewed the case thoroughly. Five meetings have been conducted in the last few months, and the reward announced for any information on the absconding accused has been increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh,” Mr. Mundargi said.
The HC, however, dismissed the submissions, saying these were knee-jerk reactions introduced only after the court made some adverse remarks in the previous hearing.
It said the authorities could not just rely on vigilant citizens for help. “We are not impressed. These are knee-jerk reactions. You think people will come forward to help you for money? Of all you know, they might be earning more for keeping quiet,” the Bench said.
It also expressed displeasure over nearly every case requiring the court’s intervention. “It is shameful and we should not be saying this but, if that unfortunate incident in Karnataka (killing of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh) had not happened and you (authorities in Maharashtra) had not coordinated with the Karnataka police, you would have remained clueless,” the court said.
The HC said in a democracy, everyone has the right to express oneself and that the perpetrators of such crimes must remember that violence breeds violence. “Those who are perpetrators of a crime today can become the victims of such crime tomorrow,” the Bench said.
CBI counsel Anil Singh told the court that the agency has already identified shooters in the Dabholkar case and filed charge sheets.
He said the probe agency requires some time to work on additional information received from the Karnataka police. The court granted time to both the agencies till April 26 for further probe in the two cases.
Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, in Pune while out on morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to injuries on February 20.
