New Delhi: The central government Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it is willing to hand over the case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death to the CBI.
The body of Rajput, aged 34, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his apartment in Mumbai’s Bandra on 14 June this year.
The court was hearing a petition filed by actor Rhea Chakraborty, demanding that the FIR registered against her in Patna by Rajput’s father be transferred to Mumbai.
Chakraborty was said to have been in a relationship with Rajput.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the central government has, in principle, accepted the Bihar government’s recommendation for a CBI probe into the actor’s death.
Justice Hrishikesh Roy, however, gave three days’ time to all parties — Maharashtra and Bihar governments as well as Chakraborty and Rajput’s families — to file a reply.
The court also asked the Maharashtra government for an update on the status of its investigation. The Mumbai Police has been probing the case under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which lays down the process for investigation when a person dies due to suicide.
On Mehta’s request to add the central government as a party to the case, the court asked the latter to file an impleadment application.
Rajput’s father had last month filed an FIR against Chakraborty and her family members in Patna. The FIR includes sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC.
Chakraborty’s plea has now alleged that abetment to suicide charges against her in Patna is an “act of connivance” between the Bihar government and Rajput’s father. She submitted that she has been falsely implicated in the case.
The hearing in the matter was slated for next week.
Also read: A Haryana connection amid Mumbai-Bihar tussle in Sushant Singh Rajput case
‘Quarantining Bihar officer sent wrong signal’
During the hearing, senior advocate Shyam Divan, who represented Chakraborty, pushed for a protective order in her favour and asked for a temporary bar on any coercive measures against the actress.
But senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing on behalf of Rajput’s father, opposed this plea, saying evidence can be tampered with if a protective order is issued.
Singh also pointed out that Bihar IPS officer Vinay Tiwari, who had arrived in Mumbai to monitor the probe, was quarantined till 15 August by the Maharashtra government. Tiwari had earlier alleged that he was “selectively quarantined“.
To Singh’s comment, Justice Roy said quarantining “does not send a good message” and asked the Maharashtra government to ensure things are handled professionally.
Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput death — why both Patna and Mumbai police are probing the case