HC cites lapses and loose ends, transfers probe in ex-Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator's murder to CBI

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday said there were certain lapses and loose ends in the police probe into the murder of former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar and transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

A division bench headed by Justice Revati Mohite Dere allowed a plea filed by Ghosalkar's wife, Tejasvee Ghosalkar, which raised concerns over the investigation carried out by Mumbai police and sought a CBI probe.

The bench said the police had not probed certain angles of the case and this would lead to miscarriage of justice.

It was a cold-blooded murder captured live, an incident which shook the conscience of one and all, the HC said.

Ghosalkar was shot dead by local businessman Mauris Noronha at the former's Borivali office during a Facebook Live session on February 8. Noronha shot himself dead soon after.

"In the present case what surfaces is that the mystery surrounding the death of deceased Abhishek continues," the bench said.

Although the police has claimed it has put all its best efforts and has investigated all angles, the ground reality appears otherwise, the HC bench observed.

"The maze of suspicious circumstances has not been pierced and solved and most importantly, some vital aspects which ought to have been investigated have not been investigated. If all angles of a case are not examined as in the present case, it would lead to travesty of justice," it added.

Even innocent lapses in the investigation cannot be allowed as it would ultimately result in denial of a fair and impartial probe, leading to miscarriage of justice, the court said, adding this cannot be permitted.

"We feel that some angles have not been investigated or looked into and, hence, deeper investigation needs to be done. We have gone through the investigation carried out and find that there are some loose ends/areas which have not been examined by the police," the HC said.

It noted that Ghosalkar was killed in a gruesome and brutal manner.

"It was a cold-blooded murder of an ex-corporator of the area. The said killing was seen live on Facebook, which was aired from Mauris Noronha's office," the bench said.

"We may note that although the deceased belonged to a particular political party, the petitioner has not particularly alleged that some other political party was involved in the gruesome act," HC said.

The bench said investigation may be transferred to the CBI in rare and exceptional cases.

"The one factor that courts may consider is that such transfer is imperative to retain public confidence in the impartial working of the state agencies. Mere allegations against the police will not constitute a sufficient basis to transfer the investigation," the HC said.

"It is trite that where it becomes necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in investigation the investigation can be transferred to another agency. Unarguably, quality of investigation is an important aspect to detect the crime and book the perpetrator of the crime," the HC observed.

The bench said it deems it appropriate to transfer the investigation to an independent agency like the CBI, so as to retain public confidence and to ensure justice is done.

The court directed the CBI's zonal director to appoint an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police from the IPS cadre to investigate the said case, adding that papers of investigation should be handed over to the central probe agency at the earliest and in any event within two weeks.

As per police, Noronha was upset with Ghosalkar over various issues. The accused allegedly believed Ghosalkar had a hand in getting a rape case registered against him and also in scuttling his political career.

Noronha's bodyguard, Amarendra Singh, whose pistol was allegedly used in the shooting, was arrested in the case. He is currently out on bail.