The Bombay High Court has transferred the investigation of the murder of UBT Shiv Sena Corporator Abhisekh Ghosalkar to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The murder, which was broadcast live on Facebook, prompted a petition from Ghosalkar's wife, Teejasvee Ghosalkar, requesting the transfer.

A division bench of the high court, consisting of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Shyam Chandak, observed that the murder was a heinous act captured on live video, deeply disturbing to the public conscience, which led to their decision to move the case to the CBI.

“It was a cold-blooded murder captured live, an incident which shook the conscience of one and all. We may note that although the deceased belonged to a particular political party, the petitioner has not particularly alleged that some other political party was involved in the gruesome act,” the order states.  

Additionally, the bench remarked that failing to thoroughly examine all aspects of the case, as seen in the present instance, could result in a miscarriage of justice.

“It is trite that, where it becomes necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in investigation, that the investigation can be transferred to another agency. Unarguably, quality of investigation is an important aspect to detect the crime and book the perpetrator of the crime. If all angles of a case are not examined as in the present case, it would lead to travesty of justice. Therefore, even if there are innocent lapses in the investigation, it cannot be allowed to continue, as it would ultimately result in denial of a fair and impartial investigation, leading to miscarriage of justice, which cannot be permitted,” the order states.

Additionally, the bench noted that the high court was transferring the investigation to the CBI to maintain public confidence and ensure that justice is served.