The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on Rhea Chakraborty's plea for transfer of the FIR lodged in Patna by Sushant Singh Rajput's father to the Mumbai Police.
A single-judge bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy noted that Rhea herself has pleaded for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. Both the Bihar government and Sushant's father are seeking a CBI probe into the actor's death, while the Maharashtra government opposes it. The top court has asked all the parties in the case to file written submissions by Thursday.
The Bihar government alleged there was political pressure to stop registration of an FIR in Mumbai and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, argued that the arguments made by the Chief Ministers of both Maharashtra and Bihar during the case makes it a fit case for a CBI inquiry.
Rhea's counsel, however, contended that the FIR in Bihar was at the behest of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar there, and if there were to be a fair investigation, it can't be at the instance of Bihar Police. Stressing that the transfer petition should be allowed, Rhea's counsel insisted that the effective investigation should be in Mumbai, as it is also the place of original jurisdiction.
Mehta, meanwhile, questioned how the Mumbai Police summoned 56 persons and recorded their statements, as they cannot do it under inquest proceedings. He submitted before the court that Mumbai Police never registered an FIR to investigate the case.
He also argued that the Enforcement Directorate has already initiated investigation, and after one central agency has registered a case, another central agency (CBI) should be engaged.
