The Bombay High Court rapped the CBI on Monday for the slow pace of its probe into the murder of Jalgaon Congress leader Vishram Patil.

Petitioner Rajni Patil, wife of Vishram Patil, has alleged that President Pratibha Patil’s brother, G N Patil, is party to her husband’s murder.

“How much more time do you need to complete the investigation?” the court asked before granting the CBI time till July 25 to make headway.

“The case was transferred to the CBI in February last year and there has been no satisfactory investigation so far,” the Division Bench of Justice R M S Khanderparkar and Justice P B Majumdar reminded the agency.

Associate Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the CBI, then sought a three-week time although no directions were passed to this effect. Subramaniam informed the court that the agency had already filed a second supplementary chargesheet and that scientific tests like brain mapping, narco-analysis and polygraph tests needed to be conducted on the suspects.

The submission comes even after the court, during the last hearing on June 16, had asked why the CBI had so far not conducted tests on the two suspects, Leeladhar Narkhede and Damodar Lokhande.

The CBI counsel had contended that the agency was awaiting the Supreme Court's verdict on the validity of such tests as investigative tools.

The court then stated, “If the CBI can conduct such tests on the suspects in the Arushi Talwar case, why not in this case?”

Subramaniam submitted that it has been the practice of the CBI to take the consent of the persons concerned before conducting narco tests which they have not received in this case. The court then pointed out two instances in Maharashtra alone in which the CBI has conducted narco tests without the consent of the persons concerned.

... contd.