Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI) "A very sorry state of affairs," the Bombay High Court remarked on Wednesday and criticised the crime branch's SIT for failing to register an FIR against five policemen in the alleged encounter killing of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case.
The court's sharp comments followed public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar's admission that the Special Investigation Team had not yet registered the FIR, despite explicit orders from the High Court on April 7.
After the HC sternly observed that it would be constrained to initiate contempt proceedings, Venegaonkar assured the court that the FIR would be registered by Saturday, May 3.
Initially, the prosecutor stated that the SIT wanted to determine whether Shinde's parents wished to act as complainants in the case. Later, he informed the bench that police inspector Mangesh Desai had been nominated as the complainant.
"He (Desai) will go through the case papers after which his statement would be recorded as the complaint and FIR would be registered by May 3," Venegaonkar said.
A bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale accepted this statement.
On April 7, the High Court directed the crime branch's joint commissioner Lakhami Gautam to form a Special Investigation Team to probe Shinde's death and lodge an FIR against the five policemen held responsible by a magistrate's inquiry report.
The bench emphasised that when a prima facie offence is disclosed, it is mandatory for the investigating agency to register an FIR, as established by the Supreme Court in the Lalita Kumari judgement.
Last week, the High Court castigated the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was initially probing the case, for failing to hand over the case papers to the SIT. Subsequently, the CID handed over all the papers to the SIT on April 25.
On Wednesday, when the High Court inquired whether the FIR had been registered, public prosecutor Venegaonkar replied in the negative.
Irked by this, the bench stated that when a cognizable offence is evident, the police ought to have applied their minds and lodged the FIR.
"There is a responsibility cast on the police. Do not let public faith in the system down. There is a dead body. It is an unnatural death. What more revelation do you want to lodge FIR?" HC questioned.
The bench said in the absence of non-compliance of its order it would be constrained to initiate contempt proceedings.
"This is pure scuttling of directives of this court. We are not satisfied. This is a very sorry state of affairs. We are now constrained to issue contempt," the court remarked and urged the SIT to show some "dedication" and take the matter to its logical conclusion.
The bench questioned the SIT's actions since April 25, when the CID handed over the case papers.
"This is complete defiance of our order. By now the FIR ought to have been registered. We want action, not just words of assurance. You (SIT) had four days since the papers were handed over," the bench said.
Venegaonkar said the SIT lacked a copy of the magistrate's inquiry report, which indicted the five policemen.
"The SIT has no intention of bypassing order. FIR will be registered, there are no two ways about it. Order will be fully complied with. There are no two minds about this," he assured the court.
Shinde (24), accused of sexually assaulting two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district, was shot dead inside a police van on September 23, 2024, while being taken to Kalyan from Taloja prison for probe in another case.
The escorting police team claimed they shot him in self-defence after he snatched the gun of one of the officials and opened fire. His parents, though, alleged he was killed in a fake encounter, and filed a petition in the high court seeking an independent probe.
An inquiry report by a magistrate indicted the five policemen, stating there was substance in the claim that it was a fake encounter.
The police officials named in the magistrate's report were Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Shinde of Thane crime branch, Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More, head constables Abhijeet More and Harish Tawade and police driver Satish Khatal.