Jalgaon murder: HC raps CBI for tardy probe

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.

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.

Justice Khanderparkar remarked, “Even without narco tests, there is sufficient information on record already for the agency to investigate the role of others.”

Rajni’s advocate Mahesh Jethmalani argued that the scientific tests are not the last word in the investigations.

Jethmalani asked why the CBI had mentioned only the names of two persons — Raju Mali, who is already dead, and Raju Sonawane — in the supplementary chargesheet.

Jethmalani also said the probe had suffered due to “suppression of evidence” and gave an example of the eye-witness statement, recorded by the CBI on 25 May 2007, of one Rambhau Pawar, in which the...