A Delhi court on Monday accepted the closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case related to the disappearance of JNU scholar Najeeb Ahmed [CBI v Final Report (Najeeb Ahmed Missing Case]. .Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Jyoti Maheshwari of the Rouse Avenue Courts said that the CBI has investigated all plausible avenues available.“Therefore, upon a comprehensive assessment of the facts and circumstances, this Court is of the considered opinion that CBI has investigated all plausible avenues available in the present case and the present closure report stands accepted,” the Court said. .It expressed hope that Ahmed will be traced soon and said the CBI can reopen the probe if it discovers any credible information. “This Court expresses its regret that while the proceedings in the present case end with this closure report, a closure for Najeeb’s mother and other loved ones, still eludes us. The CBI is at liberty to re-open the present investigation, on the receipt of any credible information, regarding the whereabouts of Najeeb Ahmed and shall intimate the Court, accordingly,” the judge said. .Ahmed, a student of MSc Biotechnology at JNU, had gone missing in October 2015 from the campus allegedly after a scuffle with students associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The investigation was initially handled by the Delhi Police but was later transferred to the CBI after Ahmed’s mother filed a habeas corpus petition in the Delhi High Court expressing unhappiness with the probe. After the investigation, the CBI filed a closure report stating that the investigation was conducted from all possible angles but no information regarding the whereabouts of Ahmed could be ascertained.Ahmed’s mother filed a protest petition and opposed the closure report. .However, the Court said that while truth is the ultimate pursuit of every investigation, it is not always attainable. “The process must remain fair, unbiased and exhaustive, even when results remain inconclusive. This Court needs to evaluate as to whether the investigation conducted was fair, complete and thorough, in light of the evidence on record and the contentions of the protest petitioner.”Finally, Judge Maheshwari concluded that the CBI has exhausted all possible avenues and closed the case. .[Read Judgment]
