The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government if it proposes to register an FIR against five policemen indicted by a magistrate`s report on the encounter of the Badlapur sexual assault case accused, reported news agency PTI.
The court posed this question even as the state government reiterated that it had already set up a commission headed by the retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and a probe is being carried out by the state CID into the alleged police shootout, reported PTI.
The accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case was allegedly shot dead in a police encounter in September last year while being taken from the Taloja prison to Kalyan in Thane district.
The escorting police team claimed that they shot at the accused in self-defence after he snatched the gun of one of them and opened fire. Since it was a custodial death, as per law, a magistrate conducted an inquiry and submitted his report to the HC, reported PTI.
The magistrate said there was substance in the allegations made by the parents of the deceased accused that this was a fake encounter, and raised suspicion on the policemen`s self-defence claim.
As per the inquiry report, five policemen were responsible for the death of the accused.
On Wednesday, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale said it only wanted to know what the state government proposes to do now that the magistrate has submitted his report, reported PTI.
“Once the report has come, our question is whether it is incumbent on the State to register an FIR or not. Today the question is whether the State proposes to lodge an FIR or not. Say yes or no,” the court said, reported PTI.
The state government has to tell us whether FIR ought to be registered or not, it added.
Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for the government, said the state is already carrying out an independent investigation, besides the inquiry commission, and hence believes that it is acting in accordance with the law, reported PTI.
The observations made by the magistrate cannot be a basis for registering an FIR (first information report), Desai said.
“The state is carrying out its independent investigation and based on that it will come to a conclusion on whether a chargesheet needs to be filed or closure report based on whether or not a cognizable offence is made out,” he added, reported PTI.
Desai said at this stage, when an investigation is already underway, it is not permissible for the court to ask about registering an FIR based on the magistrate`s inquiry report.
The court will continue hearing the matter on March 10.
The bench had last week appointed senior advocate Manjula Rao as amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist it after the deceased accused`s parents said they no longer wished to pursue the Badlapur sexual assault case, reported PTI.
The court had asked Rao to assist the court on several issues including whether an FIR ought to be registered by the state based on the report submitted by the magistrate.
The deceased accused was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls inside the toilet of a school in Badlapur. He was an attendant at the school.
On September 23, 2024, he was killed in an alleged police shootout while being taken from the Taloja prison for questioning.
The police claimed he snatched the gun of one of the police personnel in the police van, opened fire, and was killed in retaliatory firing, reported PTI.
He was shot at by senior police inspector Sanjay Shinde. Assistant police inspector Nilesh More, two constables and the police driver were also present in the police van at the time of the alleged shootout.
The accused was being taken for questioning in connection with a case lodged against him by his wife.
(With inputs from PTI)
