Bombay HC stops monitoring of probe, asks lower court to expedite trial

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday ended its supervision of the investigation into the 2015 murder of rationalist and author Govind Pansare, deeming it unnecessary.

The court, however, instructed the Kolhapur sessions court to expedite the trial and conduct daily hearings in the case. A division bench comprising Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata decided to cease monitoring after reviewing the Anti-Terrorism Squad’s (ATS) report, which stated that the investigation had explored all possible angles.

According to the ATS, apart from apprehending two absconding suspects, no further investigative steps remain.

It is thus clear that the only aspect remained to be investigated is tracing of the two absconding accused, the court said.

“According to us, only for the purpose of arrest of the absconding accused, continuous monitoring of the further investigation by this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not necessary,” the bench held.

It stated that after the accused persons are arrested, the investigating agency can report it to the trial court.

The court disposed of the plea filed by an accused against the high court’s continued monitoring of the case.

Govind Pansare and his wife Uma were shot in Kolhapur city on February 15, 2015, while on a morning walk. He succumbed to his injuries five days later.

The investigation was initially conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), but later transferred to the ATS in 2022. The high court has been monitoring the probe in the case since 2016 with investigation agencies regularly submitting reports with respect to progress in the probe.

On the point raised by the victim’s family about delay in trial, the court noted that it has already commenced and as on December 16, 2024, the prosecution has examined 28 witnesses.