SYNOPSIS and LIST of DATES That the Present Writ Petition Is Being
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Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) SYNOPSIS AND LIST OF DATES That the present writ petition is being filed in public interest to enforce the Rule of Law guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. This Hon’ble Court has time and again held that the common public has an inherent interest in prosecution of persons who commit criminal offences. Therefore, this writ petition is being filed in the collective interest of the public towards ensuring that the criminal justice system works in a non-partisan manner and a fresh investigation is carried out fairly to bring to book the real culprits in the murder of Shri Haren Pandya, a public figure and an ex home minister of the State of Gujarat, who was murdered in 2003 and subsequently the persons accused of the murder were acquitted by the Hon’ble High Court which called the investigation conducted, apparently under the present NIA Chief, Mr. Y. C. Modi, as “botched” and “misdirected” in these words: “…………What clearly stands out from the record of the present case is that the investigation in the case of murder of Shri Haren Pandya has all throughout been botched up and blinkered and has left a lot to be desired. The investigating officers concerned ought to be held accountable for their inaptitude resulting into injustice, huge harassment of many persons concerned and enormous waste of public resources and public time of the Courts.” Public disquiet has been unabated regarding the highly unsatisfactory way in which investigation has been carried out into the murder of a popular BJP leader who was also the former Home and Revenue Minister of the State. There may be possibly a shielding of high place officials. Aside from existing doubts that have been from the beginning of the investigation, fresh developments make this petition imperative. The need for this petition arises due to some startling information that has recently come to light, and has been extensively reported by the media regarding Mr. Haren Pandya’s Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) murder, information which was never investigated into by the investigating agency, the CBI. This information along with some earlier revelations about the murder only confirm the apprehensions raised by the High Court of Gujarat in its judgment dated 29th August, 2011 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 975-981/2007, 984-986/2007, 1049/2007 and 1188/2007. The High Court acquitted all the accused and raised serious questions over the investigation carried out in the instant case in these words. An appeal against the High Court’s judgment has already been preferred by the CBI and the State of Gujarat and the same is pending before this Hon’ble Court. However, the record of that case, will not reflect the disturbing developments that have come to light recently regarding the death of Mr. Haren Pandya. This has made it imperative that a fresh investigation is carried out at the earliest to ensure that the real culprits can be apprehended. Date Event 26th March, Mr. Haren Pandya is murdered in 2003 Ahmedabad. Gujarat Police registers an FIR and begins its investigation 28th March, The investigation is handed over to CBI 2003 which files an FIR and takes over the matter. April-June 15 people are arrested for participating in 2003 a conspiracy to murder Mr. Haren Pandya 1st June, Sections of Preventions of Terrorist Act, 2003 2002 are added to the offences under which the arrested accused have been charged 11th Special Court, seized of the matter, December, frames charges against the 15 people 2003 arrested by the CBI 26th Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a gangster, is killed November, in an encounter along with his wife 2005 Kauser Bi. Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) Later several high ranking police officers including DG Vanzara as well as the then Home Minister of Gujarat, Amit Shah, is arrested as accused in the case. 15th Mr. Vithalbhai Pandya, father of Mr. December, Haren Pandya files an application before 2006 the Special Court seeking further investigation into the matter alleging that his son’s murder was a political conspiracy and that the CBI has deliberately sabotaged the investigation to benefit powerful people in the administration. He also alleges that the CBI had dropped Ms. Jagruti Pandya, wife of Mr. Haren Pandya, as a witness as it would reveal the reality behind Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder and highlight the blinkered approach being adopted by the investigators. 18th Special Court rejects Mr. Vithalbhai December, Pandya’s application for further 2006 investigation 26th March, Mr. Vithalbhai Pandya again submits an 2007 application for further investigation into Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder. However, the Special Court again rejects this application. 25th June, Special Court passes the final judgment 2007 in the trial and convicts 12 people for Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder 16th June, High Court of Gujarat dismisses Mr. 2008 Vithalbhai Pandya’s appeal against Special Court’s order rejecting the application for further investigation into Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder and denies the plea for further/ re-investigation of the murder 15th July, Mr. Vithalbhai Pandya’s SLP against the 2009 Gujarat High Court’s order denying the plea for further investigation/re- Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) investigation is dismissed by this Hon’ble Court 29th August, High Court of Gujarat passes its 2011 judgment in the appeal against conviction filed by the accused and overturns the trial court’s judgment and all the accused in Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder are acquitted. The High Court notes that the murder, as per the prosecution’s story, seems improbable. It also notes in quite stringent terms that the investigating agency has shown inaptitude in its investigation and that due to a “botched” and “misdirected” investigation, injustice has been caused. 6th February, Ms. Jagrutipandya’s, wife of Mr. Haren 2012 Pandya, writ petition before the High Court of Gujarat seeking a reinvestigation into Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder is dismissed o by the High Court on the grounds that since the SLP against the judgment of the High Court acquitting all the accused is pending before the Supreme Court, it would not be proper for the High Court to entertain a petition seeking re-investigation into the matter. 21st Times of India reports that DG Vanzara, September, a Gujarat cadre IPS officer, in jail and 2013 undergoing trial for staging fake encounters, told the CBI officers questioning him that Mr. Haren Pandya was killed as a part of a political conspiracy. 2016 A book called Gujarat Files by Ms. Rana Ayyub, a journalist, is published which contains a transcript of a secretly recorded conversation between Ms. Rana Ayyub and YA Shaikh, a Gujarat Police officer who was the IO who had investigated the case in the first two days before the same was handed over to the Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) CBI. As per the conversation, YA Shaik reveals that the CBI did not do any investigation of its own and merely repeated what was told to them by the Gujarat Police. He also reveals that Mr. Haren Pandya’s murder was a political conspiracy and that several politicians as well as IPS officers including DG Vanzara were involved in the conspiracy to murder Mr. Pandya 3rd November, Azam Khan, a witness in the fake 2018 encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Kauser Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati, is produced before the trial court for his deposition. He reveals during his deposition that Sohrabuddin Sheikh had told him that Mr. Haren Pandya was murdered as a part of a contract killing for which the contract was given by DG Vanzara. He also reveals that Sohrabuddin’s associate Tulsiram Prajapati along with two others had murdered Mr. Haren Pandya as part of that contract. In his deposition he mentions that he had already given this information to CBI in 2010 21st Special Court hearing the fake encounter December, case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Kauser Bi 2018 and Tulsiram Prajapati acquits all the accused. However, it notes that the prosecution of the case was highly unsatisfactory which has resulted in injustice to the three persons killed. 21.01.2019 Hence, the present writ petition IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION) (PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION) WRIT PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO. _______OF 2019 Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) IN THE MATTER OF:- CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY MS. KAMINI JAISWAL 43, LAWYERS’ CHAMBERS SUPREME COURT OF INDIA NEW DELHI MOBILE: 9810238874 E-Mail: [email protected] … PETITIONER VERSUS UNION OF INDIA THROUGH SECRETARY MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS NORTH BLOCK NEW DELHI THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR PLOT NO. 5-B, 6TH FLOOR CGO COMPLEX, LODHI ROAD NEW DELHI-110003 … RESPONDENTS WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, 1950 SEEKING INTER ALIA FRESH INVESTIGATION OF THE MURDER OF LATE SHRI HAREN PANDYA UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THIS HON’BLE COURT To The Hon’ble Chief Justice And his companion justices of the Supreme Court of India The humble Petition of the Petitioner above named MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: That the present writ petition is being filed in public interst to enforce the Rule of Law guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. This Hon’ble Court has time and again held that the common public has an inherent interest in prosecution of persons who commit criminal offences. Therefore, this writ petition is being filed in the collective interest of the public towards ensuring that the criminal justice system works in a non-partisan manner and a fresh investigation is carried out fairly to bring to Bar and Bench (www.barandbench.com) book the real culprits in the murder of Shri Haren Pandya, a public figure and an ex home minister of the State of Gujarat, who was murdered in 2003 and subsequently the persons accused of the murder were acquitted by the Hon’ble High Court which called the investigation conducted as “botched” and “misdirected” in these words: “…………What clearly stands out from the record of the present case is that the investigation in the case of murder of Shri Haren Pandya has all throughout been botched up and blinkered and has left a lot to be desired.