A Division Bench of the Supreme Court, consisting of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia, has resumed the hearing on a plea challenging the decision of the Bombay High Court to discontinue overseeing the case related to the murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar. The petitioner, Mukta Dabholkar, who is Narendra Dabholkar's daughter, presented the petition before the Bench.

The Bench has granted Senior Advocate Anand Grover, representing the petitioner, a two-week period to submit additional documents. These documents are expected to aid Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who is representing the CBI, in exploring the possibility of a broader conspiracy.

Grover argued that the case involves two main points. First, the CBI investigation was still ongoing when the challenged order was issued. Second, even preliminary evidence suggests a connection between the murders of Govind Pansare, Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, Professor MM Kalburgi, and Gauri Lankesh. Grover also highlighted that this matter was raised before the Bombay High Court.

During the proceedings, Justice Dhulia remarked that since the trial was underway and multiple witnesses had been examined, the High Court's decision to cease monitoring the investigation seemed reasonable. He questioned the necessity for objection to this observation.

In response, Grover pointed out that despite the ongoing trial, the individuals on the run had not been apprehended yet. He added that there were more aspects to consider in the case.

Justice Kaul acknowledged that the Bench had certain limitations and inquired about the current status from the ASG.

The ASG mentioned that the counter affidavit was submitted on May 31, 2023, but it had not been accepted due to administrative complications. She provided an update on the trial's progress, stating that 20 witnesses had been examined.

Justice Kaul then sought clarification on the alleged larger conspiracy that Grover had raised.

The ASG responded by stating that out of the five accused under investigation, three lacked sufficient evidence against them, and the remaining two were not linked. Additionally, a separate trial was ongoing for the other five accused.

In response, Justice Dhulia asked, "You're saying that there is no common link among the accused facing trial in those four murders, right?"

Justice Kaul emphasized the Bench's interest in understanding this and requested the ASG to investigate further.

The case in question pertains to the murder of Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist and social activist, who was fatally shot during his morning walk in 2013.

In 2014, the Bombay High Court transferred the investigation from the Pune police to the CBI following petitions by activist Ketan Tirodkar and later Mukta Dabholkar. Since then, the court has been overseeing the case's progress.

In 2021, a special court in Pune charged alleged mastermind Virendra Sinh Tawde and three others with murder, conspiracy, and terror-related offenses under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. A fifth accused, Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, was charged with evidence destruction.

The accused were reportedly associated with the right-wing religious group Sanathan Sanstha. Subsequently, several witnesses have been examined as part of the case.

Case Title: Mukta Dabholkar And Anr. v. CBI And Ors. SLP(Crl) No. 6539/2023