Narendra Dabholkar murder: Accused move Bombay High Court seeking termination of HC monitoring of trial

The accused in the murder case of activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar have approached the Bombay High Court submitting that since the trial in the murder case has commenced, the High Court can now stop monitoring the case..A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik sought a response from the kin of Dabholkar’s family to the applications of the three accused - Vikram Bhave, Sharad Kalaskar and Virendrasinh Tawade..Dabholkar, founder and head of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, an anti-superstition outfit, was shot dead in August 2013, allegedly by members of a radical outfit called Sanatan Sanstha. After taking over the investigation in 2014, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet against five accused in the murder case.The trial in the case commenced in September 2021 after charges were framed against all five accused..Advocate Subhash Jha, appearing for one of the accused, submitted to the Court that since the trial had commenced, the High Court could discontinue with its monitoring of the trial. The Bench sought a response from Dabholkar’s kin who were petitioners in the 2015 plea raising grievance that the trial in the case had not begun. The High Court posted the case for hearing on January 11, 2023..Meanwhile, the Bench sought a status report from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) which was presently investigating the murder of Communist Party of India politician, Govind Pansare.Pansare was shot in February 2015 in Kolhapur. He succumbed to his injuries five days later. The investigation was being conducted by a special investigation team of the Crime Investigation Department of the State Police. However, in August this year, the case was transferred to the ATS. The trial in the Pansare murder case is yet to begin..Advocate Abhay Nevagi, appearing for Pansare’s family, informed the Court that the ATS will have to obtain a designated court in Kolhapur to deal with the case.