The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed its disinclination to hear a petition seeking a CBI probe into the alleged “fake encounter” of Rohit Arya — the man accused of holding children hostage in a city recording studio — who was shot dead during the rescue operation.
When a division bench indicated it was not inclined to grant any relief, the petitioner — a Mumbai-based female advocate — withdrew the plea. The HC, which also rejected the petitioner’s request to convert the plea into a PIL, allowed the petition’s withdrawal, but added that if the advocate wishes, she can file a private complaint before a magistrate’s court as mandated by law.
The petition, filed by Shobha Buddhivant through advocate Nitin Satpute, alleged Arya was killed “under the pretext of self-defence and retaliation at the behest of a political leader”.
It further claimed that Arya, who had worked on a project for the Maharashtra education department, had been under severe mental stress due to the state government’s failure to clear his pending dues.
When the plea seeking a probe into the hostage-taker’s death came up for hearing on Tuesday, the HC questioned as to why the petitioner had approached the high court directly instead of filing a private complaint. Satpute told the court that Buddhivant had sent a written complaint to the police before filing the plea.
The bench, however, noted the document sent to the police was a notice, not a complaint. “You must file a private complaint as mandated by law. There cannot be multiple authorities with whom you can file a complaint; it has to be specific.”
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