SP of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) GL Singhal told Gujarat high court on Friday that he had no problem if investigation in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case was handed over to the CBI.
Representing Singhal, counsel Nirupam Nanavati submitted that he had no objections if the investigation in the case was handed over to an independent agency.
He submitted that metropolitan magistrate SP Tamang had “travelled beyond the scope of jurisdiction vested in him” while submitting his report. He said that the details of the magisterial inquiry were not supposed to be divulged to any party.
He contended that neither the proposed accused in the case nor the complainant can get access to the report until the final investigation report is submitted.
He submitted that the magisterial court had taken the statements of Pragnesh alias Javed Sheikh's father only and that no other statements were taken after which the report was prepared. He also submitted that the investigating officer in the case or the doctors involved were not called to give their statements.
On the other hand counsel for Gopinath Pillai, Mukul Sinha, submitted that at an earlier stage, it was not clear whether the high court had powers to transfer investigation in the case.
"When the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by the court, no objection was raised because of the said reason," Sinha said.
He further said that however, in February this year, the Supreme Court clarified in a case that the high court had powers to transfer investigation in a case to the CBI after which a petition was filed before Gujarat high court. He cited the judgment of the apex court in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. The apex court had then said that no meaningful investigation could be held by a state agency in the case.
He also submitted that in all the encounters in the past four years, a similar pattern has been followed. He submitted that in each of these cases, police claimed that dreaded terrorists came to India to kill chief minister Narendra Modi. He contended that Modi never uttered a word, neither did he hand over investigation in such cases to a state agency.
Meanwhile, the state submitted a summary of the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the petitioners in the case. This was after the petitioners, including Shamima Kausar and Gopinath Pillai, sought a copy of the investigation report of SIT.
The state will now make its submissions in the case on Monday. A division bench of the high court comprising justice Jayant Patel and justice Abhilasha Kumari deferred hearing in the matter till then.
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