The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a special leave petition filed by Rajesh Talwar and his wife Nupur challenging an Allahabad High Court order which refused their plea for summoning 14 witnesses in the case of murder of their teenage daughter, Aarushi.
A vacation Bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and Dipak Misra said: “We cannot compel the CBI or the prosecuting agency to examine certain witnesses. It is absolutely their prerogative.”
As counsel Rajiv Nanda was giving details of the Talwars’ house in Noida, where the murder of the 14-year-old girl and domestic help Hemraj took place in May 2008, the Bench said: “We are not here for a mini-trial and issue a certificate to you. We are only concerned with your plea challenging the High Court order.”
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The doctor-couple said the prosecution had examined only 39 out of the 141 witnesses cited along with the final report and dropped a number of material witnesses including CBI officials and investigating officers. The testimony of these witnesses was a must for a just and fair decision, the SLP said, adding the trial court had erroneously rejected the petitioners’ application.