HC Tells Akshay Shinde’s Parents They Need Not Attend Every Hearing in Fake Encounter Case | File Photo
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday told the parents of Akshay Shinde, accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case, that they need not come to court every time for the hearing of their petition seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into their son’s alleged fake encounter.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Neela Gokhale clarified that the parents’ presence was not necessary after they informed the court, for the second consecutive day, that they wanted to close the case.
“Amala case bandh karaycha aahe… Me soon kade janar… (We want to close the case. I will go to my daughter-in-law),” Akshay Shinde’s mother told the court. Even on Thursday, they had told the court that they did not wish to pursue the case and wanted to close it, citing stress. Moreover, the mother expressed that she wished to be with her daughter-in-law, who had recently delivered a child. “You do not have to come to the court,” Justice Dere told the parents.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Desai said they could always send a letter if they wanted to convey anything to the court. “They can even send a letter. There should not be a misunderstanding. It’s a court, where anybody should be allowed,” Desai said. He emphasized that the parents should not get the impression that they were not being allowed to come to court. Justice Dere agreed saying: “If you (parents) want, you may come.”
A magistrate’s report submitted to the HC on January 20 found that the officers in the police van transporting Shinde from Taloja Prison to Kalyan were accountable for his death. The report named Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Shinde of the Thane crime branch, Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More, Head Constables Abhijeet More and Harish Tawade, and Police Constable Satish Khatal.
On Thursday, the State government requested the court to provide them with additional material relied on by the judicial magistrate while indicting the policemen in Shinde’s alleged fake encounter. Apart from the material submitted by the police and the State CID, the magistrate had recorded statements of witnesses. The State has sought copies of those statements.
On Friday, the court said it would pass an order later on the State’s request for additional material relied on by the magistrate while preparing the report. The judges also said they had not yet been able to go through the report containing the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee, formed by the State government to examine the safety of children in schools and other educational institutions. The committee was asked to submit a report with its recommendations.
On Thursday, the State government had informed the court that it had yet to decide on registering an FIR against the policemen involved, as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe was still ongoing.
