This is an archive article published on January 2, 2025
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Bombay High Court says further court monitoring of probe into Govind Pansare’s death not necessary, orders expedited trial
In February last year, the Bombay high court had asked the Maharashtra ATS to look into the information given by Govind Pansare’s kin that he was killed because of his book, Shivaji Kon Hota (Who was Shivaji)
Govind Pansare, an activist and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, and his wife were shot by unidentified assailants in Kolhapur during their morning walk on February 16, 2015. (File Photo)
The Bombay High Court Thursday disposed of the plea by the kin of deceased activist Govind Pansare seeking a court-monitored probe into his death, saying the investigation did not require further oversight and directed the lower court to expedite the trial.
Pansare, an activist and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, and his wife were shot by unidentified assailants in Kolhapur during their morning walk on February 16, 2015. While his wife survived, the CPI leader died at a Mumbai hospital four days later.
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The high court, on August 3, 2022, transferred the investigation into the death to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
In its verdict on the plea by Pansare’s daughter and daughter-in-law seeking a probe into his death and its monitoring by the high court, a bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Kamal R Khata Thursday noted that the ATS had investigated the allegations made by petitioners from “all angles” and except the arrest of two absconding accused, nothing further remained to be probed.
The court observed, “…continuous monitoring of the further investigation by this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not necessary. After the accused persons are arrested, the investigating agency can report it to the trial court as per the provisions of (the) Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).”
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The bench noted that the trial in the case had already commenced on December 16, 2024, and the prosecution had examined 28 witnesses.
The bench referred to Supreme Court judgments in Vineet Naraian and Shahid Balwa cases, which held that the task of monitoring by the court would end the moment the chargesheet is filed in the matter.
It also disposed of intervention pleas by some accused persons against the high court’s continued monitoring of the case.
In February last year, the high court had asked the Maharashtra ATS to look into information given by Pansare’s kin that he was killed because of his book, ‘Shivaji Kon Hota (Who was Shivaji)’.
On April 2, 2023, the state lawyer submitted, in a sealed envelope, the status report of the investigation in the case. ATS Pune claimed to have found leads related to the accused Vinay Pawar and Sarang Akolkar, who were absconding.
On April 18, 2023, nearly eight years after it began supervising the case, the high court decided to discontinue monitoring the 2013 murder case of another Maharashtra activist Narendra Dabholkar. The court had then held that no further monitoring was required as the trial had commenced and was progressing steadily.
Govind Pansare, an activist and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, and his wife were shot by unidentified assailants in Kolhapur during their morning walk on February 16, 2015. (File Photo) 
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