Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for not investigating allegations made by a woman who claims that the brother of UPA Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil murdered her husband.
Rajni Patil alleges that Pratibha’s brother G N Patil was involved in the murder of her husband Vishram Patil in Jalgaon two years ago. Rajni has accused Pratibha of shielding her brother and has appealed before the High Court to order the CBI to interrogate the Presidential candidate.
A division bench comprising Justices R M S Khandeparkar and S R Sathe on Tuesday adjourned the matter to July 30, as the investigating officer was not present in court and Additional Solicitor General B A Desai failed to reply on the CBI’s behalf.
"Is the intelligence of the institution (CBI) corroding?" Justice Khandeparkar asked. “It is essential they carry out their duty diligently and effectively," he said.
Rajni's lawyer, Mahesh Jethmalani, alleged the CBI was lax in its investigation. "In fact, CDs of the petitioner's statement recorded by the CBI on April 7 have still not been collected from her," he said.
Vishram Patil was president of the Jalgaon district committee of the Congress when he was murdered on September 21, 2005. Jethmalani gave the court CDs which he claimed contained a video recording of a Congress meeting attended by G N Patil and two suspects in the murder.
Rajni claims her husband had complained against the G N Patil for misappropriating party funds. She has accused Pratibha of trying to subvert the investigation to protect her brother.
The court asked the investigation officer to be present in court when the case comes up for hearing again on July 30.
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