Powai hostage incident: Bombay HC declines to entertain plea seeking CBI probe

RA studio where Rohit Arya took 17 children and two adults hostage on October 30. FILE PIC

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed its disinclination to hear a petition seeking a CBI probe into the alleged "fake encounter" of Rohit Arya - the man accused of holding children hostage in a city recording studio - who was shot dead during the rescue operation.

When a division bench indicated it was not inclined to grant any relief, the petitioner - a Mumbai-based female advocate - withdrew the plea. The HC, which also rejected the petitioner's request to convert the plea into a PIL, allowed the petition's withdrawal, but added that if the advocate wishes, she can file a private complaint before a magistrate's court as mandated by law.

The petition, filed by Shobha Buddhivant through advocate Nitin Satpute, alleged Arya was killed "under the pretext of self-defence and retaliation at the behest of a political leader".

It further claimed that Arya, who had worked on a project for the Maharashtra education department, had been under severe mental stress due to the state government's failure to clear his pending dues.

When the plea seeking a probe into the hostage-taker's death came up for hearing on Tuesday, the HC questioned as to why the petitioner had approached the high court directly instead of filing a private complaint. Satpute told the court that Buddhivant had sent a written complaint to the police before filing the plea.

The bench, however, noted the document sent to the police was a notice, not a complaint. "You must file a private complaint as mandated by law. There cannot be multiple authorities with whom you can file a complaint; it has to be specific."

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