The Bombay High Court has called for the case diaries and relevant documents in a 1996 case involving the mysterious death of city resident Ramesh Kini. The court further adjourned to September 15 a petition seeking to make Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray and six others accused in the matter.
The petition came up for final hearing on Tuesday before Justice D K Trivedi who asked for case diaries and relevant documents pertaining to the case which had snowballed into a major controversy five years ago involving the Thackeray clan in Kini's death. Also read: Sheila Kini, 5 years later
Public Prosecutor Kiran Kapoor submitted a copy of the chargesheet and relevant documents before the judge who insisted on perusing the case diaries. Accordingly, the prosecutor sought time to produce the case papers.
On August 20, the court had called for the chargesheet pertaining to the case. Filed by social activist Pushpa Bhave, the petition was admitted by the High Court way back in 1997. Bhave had challenged an order of the lower court which had dismissed her private complaint on October 16, 1997, seeking to make Raj Thackeray and others accused in this case.
Kini was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a theatre in Pune on July 23, 1996. Bhave had alleged that a careful scrutiny of the chargesheet revealed that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to do away with Kini's life to vacate a flat occupied by him and his wife at Matunga in Mumbai.
On August 29, 1997, the CBI had filed a chargesheet against Ashutosh Rane, an alleged associate of Sena leader Raj Thackeray and president of the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena, and Kini's landlords Laxmichand Shah and his son Suman Shah for offences under IPC sections 306 (abetment to suicide) and 385 (extortion).
The High Court ordered CBI to take over investigations on on September 21, 1996. The CBI, however, exonerated Raj Thackeray and chargesheeted Rane and the father-son duo landlords.
Bhave contended in the petition that the magistrate S B Dhumal had erred in dismissing her complaint. He should have either entertained it or referred it to sessions court which in this case was to hear the trial. But the magistrate had no powers to dismiss the complaint, she contended.
Bhave said the circumstances of the case, including the 'manner' in which post mortem was carried out, allegedly indicated that Kini's death was due to homicide. She alleged that there was 'tremendous pressure' on doctors conducting the post mortem indicating involvement of "influential" persons.
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