Mumbai: In a reprieve for seven senior IPS officers including Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday withdrew its earlier order directing CBI inquiry against them for allegedly shielding a colleague, who is accused of clearing his law exam without appearing for the practical test. Recalling the order of February 27, the division bench of justices V M Kanade and P D Kode directed the DGP to conduct inquiry against the officers and submit a report within three months.
The CBI inquiry had been ordered upon the petition of Chitra Salunkhe, former vice principal of Siddharth Law College here. According to Salunkhe, K L Bishnoi, a 1985 batch IPS officer, cleared his final year LLB exam without actually appearing for the practical test held on March 12, 2005, in connivance with the then acting principal I A Inamdar.
Salunkhe had lodged complaint against the two and these IPS officers had conducted inquiry at some point or other. But Salunkhe alleged that they tried to shield Bishnoi. One of the IPS officers, Additional Commissioner of Police Sanjay Saxena, had challenged the order of CBI probe.
Advocate General Darius Khambata, representing the state government, said on Tuesday that police should be given one last chance to conduct an inquiry. “Instead of a junior CBI officer probing against such senior officers, it would be better if a DG level officer of the police conducts the inquiry and submits the final report. If the court is still not satisfied then the probe can be handed over to CBI,” he argued.
Accepting this proposal, the bench directed state DGP to arrange for inquiry under his supervision. Following a statement by Salunkhe that she faced a threat to her life, the court also directed DGP to provide her and her family a police protection. “The conduct of the police shows insensitivity. There has been a failure in the system. The matter should have been nipped in the bud instead of letting it snowball into such a big issue,” the bench observed. (PTI)