‘Can’t frame charges while probe is on’

The Bombay high court on Monday asked the prosecution in the Govind Pansare murder case to make an application in the trial court praying to defer the framing of charges, as investigations were in progress.

Advocates appearing for the Pansare family had informed the court that the trial court was likely to frame charges against arrested accused Sameer Gaikwad on March 8. The HC expressed surprise over it and asked how could charges be framed when the investigation was not over. The court also asked the state government to expedite further investigations by the state CID.

A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and V.L. Achilya has been hearing petitions seeking probe by independent agencies into the murders of Pansare and another rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

Arguing on behalf of Pansare’s family, lawyer Abhay Nevgi informed the court that charges are likely to be framed against the accused, Sameer Gaikwad, on March 8. Gaikwad, an activist of Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested in September last year in connection with the murder. Since the state CID has told the HC that even though a charge sheet has been filed against Gaikwad, further investigations are on and other accused persons in the case are yet to be arrested, the HC expressed surprise that charges will be framed before the investigation is completed.

While the state CID is investigating the Pansare case, investigation into the Dabholkar murder case is being carried out by the CBI. The high court also expressed satisfaction over the co-ordination between the two agencies.

“There appears to be good coordination between the investigating agencies probing the murder of Pansare and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar,” the high court bench observed.

Earlier, dissatisfied by the probe, the family of Pansare had moved the high court following which it had ordered a CID investigation into the murder. The high court is also hearing another petition filed by Dabholkar’s family and had earlier ordered a CBI probe into the rationalist’s killing. Both the petitions are being heard jointly by the bench.

The CBI had, earlier this month, informed the high court it was considering taking a third opinion on the weapon used in the murders of Dabholkar, M.M. Kalburgi and Pansare, after the Bengaluru and Mumbai forensic labs differed on the issue. While the Bengaluru-based forensic science laboratory (FSL) was of the opinion that different weapons were used in the murders, the Kalina FSL in Mumbai said that the weapon used in all the three cases were the same.

Advocate Nevgi, appearing for the families of both Dabholkar and Pansare, had on last thelast occasion sought the probe in both the cases to be transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The court, however, noted that CBI was in touch with NIA, and hence there was no need to hand over probe to the latter at this stage.