HC Refuses To Transfer To Cbi Probe Into Gangster’s Murder

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday refused to order a CBI probe into the murder of gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva, saying the SIT is investigating the incident and it is premature to seek transfer of the case.

A vacation bench of justices DK Upadhyaya and Jaspreet Singh here passed the order on a PIL by local lawyer Moti Lal Yadav who said that the incident in the courtroom had stunned everybody and it should be investigated either by the CBI or a retired high court judge.

The Lucknow bench said that the petition has been filed at a very “premature stage” as it has been only a few days since the Special Investigation Team was constituted.

The court also said that it expects the SIT to conduct a fair and speedy probe.

Disposing of the petition, the bench clarified that the plea can be filed at a later stage if the petitioner feels aggrieved with the probe of SIT.

Earlier, opposing the PIL, advocate general Ajay Kumar Mishra had argued that the state government was taking the June 7 incident very seriously and it constituted a high-level SIT on the same day.

The SIT has been conducting an investigation and the petitioner could not point out any reason as to why the probe should be transferred to any other agency.

During the hearing, the bench said that the deceased was a dreaded criminal but his murder in police custody could not be justified in any manner.

It also said that it expected members of the bar associations to cooperate in security checks on court campuses.

Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva an aide of gangster Mukhtar Ansari was shot dead on June 7 in court premises in Lucknow. The attacker, who was allegedly dressed as a lawyer, opened fire at Maheshwari in the court.

The state government had constituted a three-member SIT to probe the incident.