SC raps CBI in Aarushi murder case

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) Ticking off CBI for suddenly
becoming "active" against the Talwars, the Supreme Court of
India on Monday said it would "examine on merit" the dentist
couple's plea challenging the trial court's summons against
them in the twin murders of teenager Aarushi and domestic help
Hemraj.
A bench of justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar,
which heard the arguments of the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) and Rajesh Talwar and Nupur for over
one-and-half hours, also questioned the couple over their
reluctance to appear before the trial court.
The Talwars, however, got a breather as the apex court
while adjourning the matter to July 12, clarified that its
March 19 order staying the proceedings against the Talwars
would continue until further others.
"Where from the CBI has become active? Pages after
pages you have filed in the trial court submitting that there
is nothing against them. Now how could you assume that there
is evidence against them? Is it merely because the trial court
has taken cognisance," the apex court asked Solicitor General
Gopal Subramaniam.
The bench asked the counsel as to what were the
material before the trial court at the time of issuing the
summons.
"Apart from your closure report what were the material
available with the trial court to issue the summons," the
bench asked.
The Solicitor General, however, defended the summons
on the ground that the trial court had examined the statement
of police recorded under Section 161 and other relevant
materials.
14-year-old Aarushi, the only daughter of the Talwars
was found dead with her throat slit at the family's Noida
residence on the outskirts of Delhi on May 16, 2008 and the
body of their domestic help, Hemraj, was found on the terrace
the next day.
Senior counsel Harish Salve and Pinaki Mishra,
appearing for the dentist couple, accused the CBI of planting
false accusations against the Talwars which they said was the
reason for the trial court to summon them.
Salve further alleged that the media was commenting
adversely against the Talwars at the behest of the CBI "so
much so that even the trial judge was compelled to issue the
summons, lest she should be accused of corruption."
He said that such was the adverse reports appearing in
the media that Rajesh "escaped death from a whisker" after he
was attacked with a knife by a man outside the Ghaziabad
court.
"That is now over. Why should we interfere. Why don't
you go to the trial court and appear. Why should you go to the
high court," the bench asked the Talwars' counsel.

Salve claimed that he and Mishra were appearing "pro
bono" (free of cost for a public cause) to ensure justice to
the couple on account of the "trial being taken over by the
media."
He alleged that the CBI was planting even absurd
stories like plausible father-daughter illicit relationship
and other inferences as a motive for the murder.
The Talwars also accused the CBI of failing to act
against domestic helps-Krishna and Rajkumar despite an earlier
team of the agency claiming incriminating material against
them.
Subramanium said there was nothing wrong in the trial
judge issuing summons as she had merely taken cognizance of
the CBI's findings that the Talwars were the main suspects in
the murders.
"But taking cognizance is also setting the law into
motion. Essentially we are dealing with an order taking
cognizance and that is a serious matter.
"We don't think we can just like that dismiss this
petition. We will have to examine the matter on merit," the
bench said while adjourning the matter to July 12.
The Talwars further submitted that the door was
latched from outside when the maid servant entered the house
indicating that there was an entry from outside and the
killers closed the main door of the house after commiting the
crime.
On March 19, this year, the Supreme Court had stayed
during a special hearing the Allahabad High Court order that
had refused to set aside a special Ghaziabad CBI court
direction, summoning the couple in the case.
The CBI after probing the murder case for over a
two-and-half years had filed its closure report in the case in
the Ghaziabad Special CBI court, saying it had been unable to
find out any evidence to prosecute the Talwars.
But the trial court had rejected the closure report,
saying there was enough prima facie material in the agency's
report to put the couple on trial for their alleged
involvement in the twin murders and had issued summons to
them to face trial.
Rajesh and Nupur had subsequently gone to the
Allahabad High Court, which had dismissed their pleas to quash
the trial court summons and the proceedings initiated against
them.