After upbraiding the State CID for its "slow progress" in its investigations in the Govind Pansare murder case, the Bombay High Court on Thursday sought to know from the Maharashtra Government if it had decided to hand over the probe in the Govind Pansare murder case to the CBI as claimed by the lawyer of the slain CPI leader's family.
Following a submission made by Pansare’s family lawyer Abhay Nevgi that the State Government had on Wednesday consented to hand over the case to the CBI, a HC Bench of Justices SC Dharmadhikari and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi sought to know from the Prosecution if the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation had indeed agreed to transfer the probe to the central investigating agency.
On his part, Public Prosecutor Sandeep Shinde informed the court that he did not have any information or instruction from the Government in this regard.
Responding to Shinde’s submission, the HC Bench directed the Public Prosecutor to ascertain if the Government had taken a decision to hand over the Pansare murder case to the CBI, and in case it had done so, then asked the State Government to tell the court the reasons behind it.
Hearing petitions filed by the family members of Pansare and renowned rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and Panse seeking the court-monitored investigations into the murders of the two leaders, the HC Bench later adjourned the matter for six weeks.
Earlier, the HC Bench pulled up both State CID and the CBI, probing the Pansare and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder cases for the “slow progress” in the investigations.
“Now that the CBI has arrested someone in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case, Pansare’s family also wants CBI to probe their case and the State Government is also promptly saying OK let it go...let it be off my shoulder...one headache gone,” the HC Bench observed.
The HC Bench was alluding to the arrest of Sanatan Sanstha activist Virendra Tawde by the CBI from Navi Mumbai in connection with the murder of Narendra Dabholkar.