Supreme Court Orders CBI To Conduct Preliminary Inquiry Into Death Of Dalit Woman Allegedly Molested By Ex-MP Home Minister's Aide

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 20-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly molested by a close aide of former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh.A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said that if a prima facie case is made out, the CBI shall register an FIR and proceed with the investigation.“Though allegations and counter allegations have been made at the bar, we do not wish to go into the same. Suffice it to take note of the fact that the case has got a checkered history as a few murders have taken place. We make it clear that we are not going to the facts governing the aforesaid murders. Suffice it to state that by taking of the statement given by the witnesses during the proceedings under section 174 of the CrPC, the matter requires an investigation. We direct the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry on the circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased girl. Suffice it so say that we only observe that if a prima facie case is made out, obviously we expect the CBI to register the FIR and thereafter conduct for the investigation”, the Court stated. The Court disposed of a writ petition filed by the woman's mother seeking a CBI probe.During the hearing, Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves and Advocate Meenesh Dubey for the deceased woman's mother submitted that three members of the family had been murdered after they refused to withdraw the molestation complaint filed by the deceased. He told the Court that the deceased girl was later thrown out of an ambulance while she was travelling with her uncle's dead body to protest against the killings. He argued that no FIR had been registered in relation to her death and that the police had only conducted a preliminary inquiry and closed the matter.Gonsalves alleged that the killings were carried out on the instructions of Bhupendra Singh, who is now an MLA in the area. He also claimed that the public prosecutor had sabotaged the prosecution case by telling eyewitnesses not to name the accused persons and that local police could not be trusted to investigate.Gonsalves submitted that when the deceased girl's two brothers and her uncle refused to withdraw the molestation complaint, they were killed in separate incidents. He said the girl later died when she was travelling in an ambulance with her uncle's body and that no FIR had been registered in that case.Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora for the deceased woman's brother said she was continuously on the phone while travelling in the hearse vehicle and had planned to protest against the killings. She submitted that the injuries sustained by the girl were suspicious as the fatal injury was at the back of her head even though the police claimed she had fallen from the front. She further argued that despite the presence of a constable and police vehicles following the ambulance, she was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle and declared dead. Arora contended that there had been no proper investigation into the incident.Opposing the plea, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the accused, submitted that the present case was an accident.Additional Solicitor General SV Raju for the state of MP contended that the former minister is being targeted because of political reasons. He claimed that the girl had jumped out of the ambulance and died. According to Raju, statements of the persons present in the ambulance showed that she had opened the rear gate and fallen out while speaking on the phone. He argued that an inquiry had already been conducted and that an FIR could not be registered in the absence of disclosure of a cognisable offence. He said the truth has already emerged in the form of the witness statements.However, Justice Sundresh responded, “I think our conscience doesn't permit it.”The bench said it was only concerned with whether an FIR should be registered in the present case and which agency should investigate. Justice Sundresh observed that since the incident occurred in the presence of police personnel, an independent agency should examine the matter. The Court also noted that there were allegations and counter-allegations and that the case had a “checkered history” involving multiple murders.In the order, the Court clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations. It directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of the girl and to take a call on registration of an FIR within three months.BackgroundOn January 22, 2025, the Supreme Court issued notice in the writ petition seeking a CBI or SIT investigation into the alleged killing of three members of the Dalit family, including the 20-year-old woman. The petitioner alleged that the state police investigation had been derailed due to the influence of Bhupendra Singh and sought transfer of trial outside Madhya ...

Supreme Court Orders CBI To Conduct Preliminary Inquiry Into Death Of Dalit Woman Allegedly Molested By Ex-MP Home Minister's Aide

Amisha Shrivastava

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