Mohan Delkar (File) Bombay High Court continued till March 7 an interim protection from coercive steps granted to persons booked by Mumbai Police for the death of Parliamentarian Mohan Delkar. The court permitted Mumbai Police to record statements of the accused persons present before the court.
The court was conducting a hearing on the criminal writ pleas filed by the accused challenging the FIR registered by police in connection with the case.
The state government, on April 27, last year, had made a statement that it would take no coercive action against all petitioners in view of the pandemic situation and the same was continued from time to time.
On February 1, the court had directed all the petitioners except Union Territory (UT) Administrator Praful Khoda Patel to remain present before it during the next hearing on February 15. After the court was informed that some of the petitioners were summoned and instructed to appear before the police on February 1 and February 3, the bench had directed the investigating agency not to insist upon the presence of these petitioners on scheduled dates.
On Tuesday, a division bench of Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice S P Tavade was informed by Chief Public Prosecutor Aruna Pai that the state government is conducting an exercise of engaging a special counsel to represent it in a group of petitions and will require some time to complete the process, which the court accepted.
Pandurang Shinde, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Colaba Division, and Rajkumar Vhatkar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration), were present in the court.
The petitioners’ counsels submitted that their clients were present in court so as to complete the exercise of recording their respective statements by investigating officers.
“As the Petitioners have shown willingness, the concerned investigating officer is permitted to record the statements of those petitioners who are present today. Needless to state that interim order, if any, granted earlier in any of the writ petitions shall continue to operate till the next date,” the HC noted in the order.
The bench said that considering an identical issue involved in all the petitions, if it is convenient for the court, it would hear the plea finally on the next scheduled date of hearing on March 7.
Delkar, 58, a seven-term MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH), was found dead in a room at a hotel in Marine Drive on February 22, last year.
The Mumbai Police, on March 9, 2021, registered an FIR on charge of abetment to suicide and under relevant provisions of the Atrocities Act after Delkar’s family members visited the Marine Drive police station and lodged a complaint on behalf of Delkar’s son, Abhinav.
The complaint was filed against UT Administrator Patel; Sandeep Singh, then District Collector; Sharad Darade, then Superintendent of Police; Apurva Sharma, then Deputy Collector; Manasvi Jain, Sub Divisional Officer; Manoj Patel, Police Inspector (Silvassa); Rohit Yadav (DNH administrative department official); political leader Fattesingh Chauhan and Dilip Patel (Talathi of Silvassa) for allegedly having abetted suicide by “misusing their posts and powers and intentionally conspiring and planning against Delkar”.
The accused were booked for offences punishable under Sections 306 (abetment to suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The FIR had alleged that Delkar was under pressure for a year prior to his death and that the DNH administration was harassing him to gain control over his institute, SSR College of Pharmacy and Management, and prevent him from contesting further elections.
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