A bench comprising Chief Justice Bobde and Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant was hearing an impleadment application filed by BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia in the death of Dulal Kumar, a BJP worker in West Bengal, seeking a CBI investigation into the matter.
Kumar's body was found hanging from a power transmission tower in June 2018. The police claimed he had committed suicide based on the post-mortem report. The BJP alleged Kumar's death was a political murder.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal representing the West Bengal government contended that the top court must examine if member of a political party should be allowed to file a PIL. Bhatia said he is representing the brother of the deceased.
The Chief Justice replied, "We are conscious that opposition parties are also using forum of this court...it goes to both sides." The observation came from the Chief Justice as Bhatia was questioning the closure report filed by the police, and Sibal termed Bhatia's allegations baseless.
Sibal told the court that a board comprising of five medical doctors had concluded Kumar committed suicide, and the petition in the matter has been filed based on newspapers reports. The police had filed a closure report in the matter terming it a case of suicide and pinned the reason as extramarital affair.
Sibal contended that there was no external injury. Bhatia said the family members dispute this. Sibal replied 73 witnesses have been examined in the matter.
The court noted that the medical team consisted of specialists who examined the cause of death. Bhatia insisted that the ruling political party in the state had applied pressure. The Chief Justice asked Bhatia to refrain from making such statements.
After hearing the contention of both sides the apex court issued notice to West Bengal government on the application seeking CBI investigation. The matter will be listed after four weeks.
( With inputs from IANS )