Pereira case: HC doosra stumps the cops

The city police on Thursday were caught by surprise when the Bombay High Court took suo moto decision to reopen the Alistair Pereira hit-and-run case. Police officers were scurrying for cover when DNA sought their response to the high court decision.

According to some senior police officers, high court decision was a slap on the face of the Mumbai police. “It happens only in the rarest of rare cases that the superior court takes suo-moto action in a case, where a lower court has already passed the judgment,” said a senior IPS official, seeking anonymity.

Joint commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik said he was not aware of the decision and would comment only when he got official intimation. “If the honourable High Court has taken the decision, then we will comply with it,” he said.

When pointed out the court had specifically mentioned about the shoddy investigation, Patnaik gave the same reply. An official from Khar police station said that the police had submitted all documents in court along with the chargesheet, including the forensic report.

Additional Commissioner of Police Bipin Bihari said the police were themselves planning to appeal in the court. “We were waiting for the order of the Sessions Court before approaching the High court. But since the high court has suo moto taken action we will submit all probe papers to court and comply with whatever the court says.”

However, other police officers were tight-lipped when  asked about the showcause notice issued to the investigating officer in the case.