The government, in its application, said the sessions court order was "wrong and illegal" and that the judge had erred in keeping in abeyance the findings of the magistrate report
Bombay High Court. File Pic
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court against a sessions court order keeping in abeyance the findings of a magistrate holding five Thane policemen responsible for the encounter death of the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case, reported news agency PTI.
The government, in its application, said the sessions court order was "wrong and illegal" and that the judge had erred in keeping in abeyance the findings of the magistrate report. It contended the sessions court had failed to consider the fact that the HC was seized of the matter related to the alleged encounter of the Badlapur sexual assault case accused, reported PTI.
The government's decision comes after it received a rap on the knuckles last week from the HC over the order passed by the Thane sessions court in February.
The magistrate, in its probe in the last year's encounter, had raised suspicion on the claims made by the five cops that they had to shoot at the accused in self-defence after he allegedly snatched a gun from them while being escorted in a police van from Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai to Kalyan in Thane district.
The magistrate noted the policemen were in a position to control the situation and the use of force was not justified, reported PTI.
The indicted policemen later filed an application before the sessions court in Thane against the magistrate's inquiry report.
The sessions court, in an interim order, kept in abeyance the findings of the report pending final hearing of the application.
On Wednesday, public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar told a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale, which was hearing a petition filed by the deceased accused's father, that the government has filed an appeal against the sessions court order, reported PTI.
The appeal is likely to be heard after two weeks by a single bench of Justice R N Laddha.
The accused was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls inside the washroom of a school in Badlapur town of Thane district. He was an attendant at the school.
On September 23, 2024, he was killed in an alleged police shootout while being taken from the Taloja prison for questioning. The police claimed he snatched the gun of one of the police personnel in the van, opened fire, and was killed in retaliatory firing, reported PTI.
He was shot at by senior inspector Sanjay Shinde. Assistant police inspector Nilesh More, two constables and the police driver were also present in the van at the time of the shootout.
The accused was being taken for questioning in connection with a case lodged against him by his wife.
(With inputs from PTI)
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