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New Delhi: Supreme Court of India on Wednesday 19 August 2020 passed order to uphold the transfer of Patna Police’s FIR in actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case to the CBI.
The single Judge bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy said the Bihar government is competent to transfer the case to the CBI for investigation.
The apex Court order says:
“While the steps taken by the Mumbai police in the limited inquiry under Section 174 CrPC may not be faulted on the material available before this Court, considering the apprehension voiced by the stakeholders of unfair investigation, this Court must strive to ensure that search for the truth is undertaken by an independent agency, not controlled by either of the two state governments (Bihar and Maharashtra). Most importantly, the credibility of the investigation and the investigating authority, must be protected.”
Further, the order says:
“The ongoing investigation by the CBI is held to be lawful. In the event a new case is registered at Mumbai on the same issue, in the fitness of things, it would be appropriate if the latter case too gets investigated by the same agency, on the strength of this Court’s order. Such enabling order will make it possible for the CBI to investigate the new case, avoiding the rigors of Section 6 of the DSPE Act, requiring consent from the State of Maharashtra.
The order concludes by underscoring “to ensure public confidence in the investigation and to do complete justice in the matter, this Court considers it appropriate to invoke the powers conferred by Article 142 of the Constitution. As a Court exercising lawful jurisdiction for the assigned roster, no impediment is seen for exercise of plenary power in the present matter. Therefore while according approval for the ongoing CBI investigation, if any other case is registered on the death of the actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the surrounding circumstances of his unnatural death, the CBI is directed to investigate the new case as well.
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