Submit probe status of Narendra Dabholkar murder case, Bombay HC directs CBI

A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Prakash D Naik was hearing a plea filed by Dabholkar's daughter Mukta Dabholkar, seeking continuation of the supervision and monitoring of the case by the High Court.

Dr Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013. (File Photo)

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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit the status of investigation into the 2013 murder case of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar within three weeks.

A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Prakash D Naik was hearing a plea filed by Dabholkar’s daughter Mukta Dabholkar, seeking continuation of the supervision and monitoring of the case by the High Court. Dabholkar, a 67-year-old rationalist, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013. The Pune Police, which initially investigated the murder case, handed over the case to CBI in 2014, following the High Court’s order. Noting that a chargesheet was filed by CBI in the case, the bench said, “There cannot be perpetual monitoring. Some monitoring is fine, but the law is clear… that when a chargesheet is filed, the rights of the accused are to be considered.”

Advocate Abhay Nevagi, representing Mukta, claimed that the CBI was ‘yet to track the motorcycle and weapons used in the crime’, and as per the supplementary chargesheet filed by CBI in 2019, an investigation was underway. The bench has asked the central agency about the ‘developments’ following the chargesheet, the status of investigation, and what the agency proposes to do regarding the same. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh for CBI, meanwhile, sought time to respond to the court’s query, stating that a new Investigating Officer has taken charge of the case. The court granted the request, and scheduled the next hearing on January 30.

Meanwhile, an intervention application was filed by two of the five arrested accused in the case — Vikram Bhave and Virendrasinh Tavade — against Mukta’s plea. The accused had submitted the trial in the case that had already commenced before the Pune Court, and the prosecution had examined over 10 witnesses. Therefore, further monitoring is not required, observed the court.

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