No clarity on transfer of Rajput case to CBI, says state after SC hearing ›
STANCE SC asks Maha to file a status report within next three days
The Apex Court will decide the legality of the transfer of the case to CBI on recommendation of the Bihar government. Patna police has neither jurisdiction to register the complaint nor to investigate it. SACHIN PATIL, standing counsel for Maharashtra government
MUMBAI:THE state government on Wednesday said there is no clear order from the Supreme Court (SC) to transfer the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The state expects the case to remain with Mumbai Police and plans to question Patna Police’s jurisdiction over the case as Rajput died in Mumbai on June 14.
On Wednesday, while hearing a petition filed by actor Rhea Chakraborty regarding a first information report (FIR) filed in Patna that accuses her of abetting Rajput’s suicide, SC asked the Maharashtra government to file a status report on the investigation into Rajput’s death within the next three days. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told SC that the Centre had accepted the Bihar government’s recommendation and transferred the case to CBI.
However, the Maharashtra government said the case remains with Mumbai Police. Advocate Sachin Patil, standing counsel for Maharashtra government in SC, said, “The SC will decide the legality of the transfer of the case to CBI on the recommendation of the Bihar government. Patna police has neither jurisdiction to register the complaint nor to investigate it.”
Sanjay Kumar, state chief secretary, said, “All parties have been asked to file their say and we will file it in due course. Our argument will depend on the situation on that day and what is allowed by the Apex Court. I am not aware if the notification related to the transfer of the case has been issued by the Centre.”
An official from the state home department said, “The case registered by Patna Police has been transferred, not the one Mumbai Police is investigating. We will continue to investigate our case.”
Another official from the department said, “Maharashtra government appeared in court through caveat in the petition filed by Rhea Chakroborty. We will present the current status of the case, claiming how the investigation is moving in the right direction; has recorded statements of 56 persons; and that there is no need to transfer the case. We have been saying this from day one. Secondly, as per the provisions in the Code of Criminal Procedure and a notification issued by the ministry of home affairs in 2013, the FIR should be registered at the place where the offence took place. Patna police registering the case and investigating it is bad in law and this will be argued in court.”
According to the officials from the home department, SC is expected to take cognizance of the transfer of the case in the next hearing.
“Due procedure has not been followed while transferring the case to CBI. Even if CBI takes over in the FIR already filed, the case will still have to be transferred to Mumbai,” said a home department official.