Rizwanur death: Apex court restrains fresh CBI probe

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Friday restrained a Calcutta High Court direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for registering a fresh case and reinvestigating Rizwanur Rehman’s death in Kolkata in 2007.

The high court issued a direction to CBI May 18 to reinvestigate the computer graphics teacher’s death and treat it as a murder.

All the consequential orders flowing from the high court order for fresh investigation in Rizwanur case too stand restrained, said an apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan.

The consequential orders in the instant case mean the discharge of Rizwanur Rehaman’s father-in-law and industrialist Ashok Todi and others by the trial court and the release of their bail bonds.

The apex court directed the trial court to restore the bail bonds of Ashok Todi and other accused subject to its satisfaction.

However, the trial court was asked not to proceed with the trial till the petition by the CBI challenging the high court order was decided by it.

The apex court passed its order after Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told the court that the entire issue was of far reaching importance as the high court has held that the earlier investigation by the CBI was not under the criminal procedure code (CrPC).

He told the court that in India no investigating agency could be beyond the CrPC. The solicitor general questioned the high court order directing the CBI to register a fresh first information report (FIR) and re-investigate the case.

Todi too had challenged the high court order directing the CBI to undertake fresh investigations.

The high court by its impugned order had also quashed the FIR and the consequent chargesheet filed by the CBI following investigations carried out on the direction of the single judge of the high court.

The high court May 18 asked the CBI to treat Rizwanur’s mysterious death as murder and conduct a fresh probe.

The investigating agency after its earlier probe said that Rizwanur’s death was a suicide and recommended the registration of case against Todi and others for abetment to suicide.

Rizwanur’s mysterious death followed his marriage to Todi’s daughter Priyanka Aug 18, 2007.

His body was found on the railway tracks near Patipukur in north Kolkata Sep 21, 2007. Rizwanur was a computer graphics teacher.