MUMBAI, Nov 3: A division bench of the Bombay high court will hear a case pertaining to the Mumbai police filling an FIR against the two sisters of the deceased Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the CBI opposing the move on the issue of jurisdictional authority.
The case is slated for hearing on Wednesday before the division bench comprising justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik.
The Mumbai police filed the FIR on the basis of a complaint filed before the Bandra police by Sushant’s former girlfriend and a prime accused in the Bollywood actor’s untimely death probe, Rhea Chakraborty, on September 7 against Priyanka and Meetu, his two sisters, and a doctor from Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital Tarun Kumar for allegedly getting the late actor psychiatric drugs without consultation and by using a forged prescription.
The Mumbai police on Monday told the Bombay High Court that they were duty-bound to register the FIR against late actor against the two sisters as the complaint filed against them by actor Rhea Chakraborty “disclosed commission of offence.” The CBI has opposed the FIR against Sushant’s sisters.
Supporting claims of Sushant’s sisters, the CBI had told the HC that Rhea’s accusation against Sushant’s sisters was “presumptive and speculative” and said such speculation cannot be on the basis of an FIR. Last week, Rhea sought that the plea filed by the two sisters to quash the FIR be dismissed.
The Mumbai police filed an affidavit and opposed the plea filed by Sushant’s sisters to quash the FIR. The police refuted allegations that they were damaging the reputation of petitioners or any deceased person and said they were not trying to “influence or derail” the CBI probe
“The FIR (against Priyanka and Meetu) was registered based on the information provided by the first informant (Rhea Chakraborty) disclosing commission of offence,” the affidavit said.
It further said: “According to informant (Rhea), the criminal conspiracy is obtaining fabricated prescription based on falsehood, may have led to administration of Psychotropic Substances without actual examination of Sushant Singh Rajput and may have caused and contributed in suicidal death of the actor.”
“This version of the informant disclosed cognisable offences warranting investigation and requiring no preliminary enquiry. Therefore, the Mumbai police were duty-bound to register the FIR,” the affidavit said.
The police said that after registration of FIR, they followed the order passed by the Supreme Court and referred to all documents pertaining to the FIR to the central agency, which is probing Rajput’s death case.
The Mumbai Police opposed CBI’s position in the case that they should not have registered an FIR in the case that was probed by the CBI: “The case being probed by the CBI is one registered by the deceased’s father in Bihar. On the other hand, the FIR lodged by the Mumbai police is by Rhea Chakraborty seeking investigation for forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy against Sushant Singh Rajput’s sisters Priyanka and Meetu and doctor Tarun Kumar,” the affidavit said.
The police said both the contentions of sisters and CBI opposing the registration of the FIR are completely devoid of merit and a police officer or state government cannot be faulted for abiding by the Supreme Court directions for transferring probe to CBI and said despite both the cases are on Rajput’s death, the conspiracy alleged and version alleged in them were totally different.
The police concluded, “Now it is for CBI to investigate both the FIRs and to file appropriate reports in the same, after completion of investigation in accordance with law and as per directions of Supreme Court August 19 judgement.”
(Manas Dasgupta)