The petition filed through advocate J Shekhar argued that it has been 16 years and still the trial is progressing at a very slow pace
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to decide on how long it intends to continue the prosecution in the fake stamp paper scam of 2002, in which all 19 government officials being tried are 'senior citizens'.
A division bench of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice Prakash Naik asked the CBI to file a response in four weeks time. It said, "Larger public interest will not be served by spending large sums of public money in continuing with the case where prosecution has cited 800 witnesses to be examined. The CBI must take a rational decision and decide now where to stop."
The bench gave the direction while hearing a petition filed by former police officers Shridhar Vagal and Dattatray Dhal, who have challenged the framing of charges and sought discharge from the case. The two are charged of aiding and abetting the prime accused (deceased), Abdul Karim Telgi.
The petition filed through advocate J Shekhar argued that it has been 16 years and still the trial is progressing at a very slow pace. Over the years, the petitioners have suffered immense trauma and they feel that the trial will continue for another decade. Advocate Raja Thackeray appearing for the agency argued that trial cannot be conducted on a day-to-day basism but assured the court that it would be completed at the earliest.
However, the bench said "After so many years, how many witnesses will be able to recount the events of the incident. CBI has to take an informed decision and set a time frame in how much time will it conclude the case." The prosecution pertains to the 2002 Bund Garden case, in which a total of 68 accused were booked in the fake stamp paper scam. Over the year, investigation has been transferred from the local police, to the CID and later Special investigation team and then CBI.
The court also referred to cases pending against share market scam accused Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parek, which are still pending. It has to come to an end at some point of time.
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