HC begins hearing on plea by Aarushi parents

The Allahabad High Court on Friday began hearing a writ petition by Aarushi Talwar’s parents challenging the summons issued to them by a special CBI court in Ghaziabad in the murder of their teenage daughter and domestic help Hemraj.

The petitioners challenged the summons by the special CBI court on the plea that it had been issued to them despite the fact that they had not been named as accused by the investigating agency in its closure report.

Arguing on behalf of the petitioners Rajesh Talwar and his wife Nupur Talwar, senior advocate Gopal Chaturvedi submitted that upon submission of closure report by the probe agency, the special CBI court at Ghaziabad had three options — (a) accepting the report, (b) rejecting it or (c) ordering a re—investigation.

However, Mr. Chaturvedi claimed, the court did not exercise any of the aforesaid options and “wrongly” went on to initiate proceedings against the dentist couple.

When advocate Nazrul Islam Jafri, the counsel for the CBI, stood up to argue the respondents’ case, the defence counsel put up a vehement opposition saying the probe agency “did not have the power to oppose a petition of this nature“.

Mr. Chaturvedi also cited a number of cases to buttress his point and urged the court to set aside the proceedings in the special CBI court, which has asked the Talwars to appear in person before it on February 27.

As the day drew to a close, Justice Bala Krishna Narayana ordered that the case be put up for further hearing on Monday, February 27.

Meanwhile, sources close to the Talwars said here that the couple is likely to seek exemption from personal appearance before the trial court at Ghaziabad on Monday next citing pendency of related matter before the High Court.

Aarushi was found murdered inside her Noida residence in May, 2008, while the body of domestic help Hemraj was found hours later on the terrace of the house.

Uttar Pradesh police had, during the course of its investigations, alleged that the girl and the servant could have been killed by Rajesh who might have seen them “in a compromising position”.

A public outcry ensued and the matter was handed over to the CBI by the state government.

Although Rajesh was intensively grilled by the CBI, which also took him for Narco tests and brain—mapping, the agency did not name him or his wife Nupur as suspects in its closure report filed earlier this year.

A special CBI court in Ghaziabad had, on February 9, made the Talwar couple an accused in the two-year-old case on charges of murder, destruction of evidence, conspiracy and common intention to commit the crime and issued summons to them to face trial.