‘We aren’t a monitoring agency’: Delhi HC dismisses with costs PIL seeking transfer of probe in Shraddha Walkar case to CBI

“Tell us one good reason for transferring the matter…Parents don’t have any grievance. You are a stranger,” Chief Justice Sharma said.

During the course of the arguments, Santosh Kumar Tripathi, appearing for the state of Delhi, said that the plea should be dismissed with costs as baseless allegations had been levelled against the police. Sanjay Lao, appearing for Delhi Police, concurred, saying “so many comments have been levelled against the Delhi Police” without any basis.

When Tuli said that if a narco analysis test and polygraph test were conducted, the police should inform the court, the bench said that the court is not a monitoring agency. Lao submitted that around 200 police personnel were investigating the case, senior police officials were involved and “ around 80% of the investigation” was completed.

The Union of India, represented by Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, submitted that the petitioner cannot dictate before the court “what can be done, what should be done”.

After Tuli said that “nothing will happen in this case and the accused will be acquitted”, Chief Justice Sharma said, “You are judge..” Justice Prasad remarked that the litigant was nothing but “a meddlesome interloper” and that the “police is doing its own investigation”.

Thereafter, the high court dismissed the petition with costs.

The plea moved by advocate Joshini Tuli states that it was moved after she witnessed the proceedings before a Delhi court on November 17 wherein the Delhi Police was allowed to conduct a narco analysis test on Aaftab Poonawala, 28, who has been accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar.

The PIL says that Joshini wrote to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and CBI on November 18 requesting for the transfer of investigation from the Delhi Police “due to the sensitive nature of the case and the hampering of investigation and tampering of witnesses and evidences of the present case by the Delhi Police/ Respondent No.1 and Respondent No.4”.

According to the plea, “minute and sensitive details of the investigation” by the Delhi Police have so far been revealed to the “public through the media”. The petition contends that the presence of media and other public persons at the “place of recoveries, court hearings etc.” of any accused amounts to interference with the evidence and witnesses in the case.

The plea also claims that the alleged place of the crime has not been sealed by the Delhi Police to date which is continuously being accessed by the people and media personnel and has been contaminated. It further states that the case is an interstate offence beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the Delhi Police because they have disclosed to the media they are going to take Poonawala to five different states, including Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, for further investigation.

The plea also alleges that the forensic evidence in the case has not been preserved properly by the Delhi Police since all the alleged recoveries are being touched and accessed by different public persons and media personnel within the Mehrauli police station, alleged scene of crime i.e. house of the deceased, place of recoveries i.e. Mehrauli, Chhattarpur forest etc. which is evident in the news coverage of the present case.

The plea further alleges that the leaking of evidence and material witnesses to the media and public persons has led to the conduct of a media trial wherein the media and public are already “demanding hanging of the accused Aftab Poonawalla without a trial which is a right guaranteed under the Indian Constitution and Indian Laws”.

Poonawala has been accused of chopping the body of Walkar, 27, into more than 30 parts after a fight in May this year and disposing of them over two-three months. The Delhi Police has booked him under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).