HC rejects Pandey’s anticipatory bail plea
CBI court issues non-bailable warrant against the proclaimed absconder
The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday upheld the CBI court’s order and rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Additional DGP PP Pandey,giving him no more protection from arrest. Pandey has been named as an accused in the CBI chargesheet filed in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
The CBI court,meanwhile,issued a non-bailable warrant against the IPS officer for not appearing before it on Wednesday. Pandey had been appearing before the CBI court daily since July 31.
CBI officials said that Pandey’s status as an “proclaimed absconder” remains same since he did not surrender before the judicial officers as per the law,after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected.
The only legal option that Pandey now has is to approach the Supreme Court for anticipatory bail. The CBI,on the other hand,have reportedly launched a search for Pandey who,it suspects,has gone ‘underground’ again.
Earlier in the day,CBI’s lawyer Ejaz Khan had strongly opposed Pandey’s anticipatory bail petition stating that despite being such a senior IPS officer Pandey has been running away from the law. He told the court that the investigating officer could examine him just once on May 19 at his residence in Shahibaug.
“His custodial interrogation is essential to ascertain the personal input this accused (Pandey) passed on to his juniors that led to the killings of four persons in the fake encounter. The only occasion when we examined him we had asked him about his personal source,but since then he has been absconding. Although he has been chargesheeted,his role is still under investigation which we will reveal in the supplementary chargesheet,” Khan told the court.
Share
