Scarlet case: Court refuses CBI's plea to issue Letter Rogatory

In a setback to the the CBI, Goa Children's Court today refused its request to issue a Letter Rogatory (LR), a letter of request required to record statement of Fiona Mackeown, mother of British teenager Scarlet Eden Keeling who was raped and murdered a year ago.

The CBI has been struggling to record Fiona's statement, which is crucial in investigating death of Scarlet, reported at Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008.

The central investigating agency had moved the application inGoa Children's Court seeking permission to issue the letter which would have roped in the Interpol in London to take Fiona's statement.

The CBI is also attempting to record statement of Charles Carter, a crucial witness in this sensational case. Carter, reportedly, had left India after the incident.

A Letter Rogatory is a formal communication sent by a court, in which action is pending, to a foreign court seeking the latter's assistance in recording the statements of witnesses residing there.

In his order, Judge Desmond DCosta said that none of the statements produced before the Goa Children's Court made out any new angle for which both witnesses, Fiona Mackeown and Charler Carter, need to be re-examined.

This is not a fit case to exercise the somewhat extraordinary and discretionary powers of this court to issue the letter of request, the order states.

The CBI in its application had said that Fiona and Carter had no plans to visit India in the near future which made it necessary to record their statements in the UK.