Badlapur case: Want to challenge entire matter in sessions court, govt to HC

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it wants to challenge the entire proceedings in the Thane sessions court concerning a magisterial inquiry report on the death of Badlapur sexual assault case accusedThe government also said that the sessions court has not extended its earlier order keeping in abeyance the findings of the magistrates inquiry reportIn the report the magistrate had held five policemen responsible for the death of the 24yearold Badlapur case accusedThe state had earlier this month filed a petition in HC against the sessions court order that kept in abeyance the findings of the magistratePublic prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar on Wednesday told a single bench of Justice R N Laddha that the government now wants to amend its petition to challenge the validity of the entire proceedings pending before the sessions courtThe sessions court interim order was passed on applications filed by the five policemen against the magistrates inquiry reportVenegaonkar said the governments petitions had earlier only challenged the interim order passed by the sessions courtThe sessions court has not extended its order So now technically there is no stay The government wants to amend its petitions to challenge the entire proceedings pending before the sessions court he saidThe inquiry initiated by the magistrate was an administrative process and not a judicial process and hence a revision application could not have been filed by the five policemen Venegaonkar saidHe added that a division bench of HC is also seized of the matter concerning the case and hence it was not proper for the sessions court to hear the policemens application and pass orderJustice Laddha allowed the government to amend its pleas issued notice to the five policemen and posted the matter for further hearing on May 7The magistrate had in the inquiry report submitted to HC last month raised suspicion on the claims made by the five policemen that they had to shoot at the accused in selfdefence after he allegedly snatched one of their guns while being escorted in a police van from Taloja prison to KalyanThe magistrate said the policemen were in a position to control the situation and the use of force was not justifiedThe five policemen then filed an application before the sessions court in Thane against the magistrates inquiry report The sessions court in an interim order kept on abeyance the findings of the report pending the final hearing of the applicationThe government in its applications had said the sessions court order was iquestwrong and illegaliquest and that the judge had erred in keeping in abeyance the findings of the magistrate reportIt further said that the sessions court had failed to consider the fact that the HC was seized of the matter related to the alleged encounter of the accusedThe deceased accused was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls inside the toilet of a school in Badlapur He was an attendant at the schoolOn September 23 2024 he was killed in an alleged police shootout while being taken from the Taloja prison for questioningThe police claimed he snatched the gun of one of the police personnel in the police van opened fire and was killed in retaliatory firingHe was shot at by senior police inspector Sanjay Shinde Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More the two constables and the police driver were also present in the police van at the time of the alleged shootoutThe accused was being taken for questioning in connection with a case lodged against him by his wifeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever