Sachin Andhure (28), an accused in the Nallasopara arms haul case and the murder of Narendra Dabholkar, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the order by a Pune magistrate court that granted a 45-day extension to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a charge sheet against him in the murder case.
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On November 17, a judicial magistrate first class court (JMFC) in Pune granted extra time to CBI to file the charge sheet against Mr. Andhure.
After Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, in Pune, a case under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code was registered.Mr. Andhure was apprehended by the CBI on August 18 and charged under Sections 15 (terrorist act) and 16A (punishment for making demands of radioactive substances, nuclear devices etc) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
On November 12, the special public prosecutor B.P. Raju moved an application under Section 43D (modified application of certain provisions of the code) of UAPA seeking an extension to file the charge sheet beyond the stipulated 90 days.
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Mr. Andhure’s plea said that while the CBI was granted an extension, the court rejected Mr. Andhure’s bail application filed on the same grounds. The petition said that under the Code of Criminal Procedure modified by Section 43(D) of UAPA, the magistrate did not have the power to do so, because the case is registered under Section 302 of IPC as well as under UAPA, and is exclusively triable by the Sessions Court. It said that such a power is only bestowed upon a special court constituted under the National Investigation Agency Act.
It urged the court to set aside the JMFC order and declare Mr. Andhure’s detention beyond 90 days as illegal, beyond authority and jurisdiction. He also wants the HC to grant him bail.