Prosecutor not present, HC fines state Rs 15,000

Mumbai, July 18 The Bombay High Court on Friday imposed a cost of Rs 15,000 on the state government as the prosecutor did not appear in the Pawanraje Nimbalkar murder case.
Nimbalkar, a Congress leader, was murdered on Pune-Mumbai expressway on June 3, 2006, near Kalamboli.
Division bench of Justice SB Mhase and Justice VK Tahilramani held that the matter was specifically assigned to the court and if the prosecutor Satish Borulkar could not appear, he should have made some alternative arrangement. However, Borulkar at the time was attending a full bench matter being heard by the Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar to decide whether preliminary inquiry can be ordered if cognizance is made.
Borulkar had to appear before the full bench after the case was referred to it following two conflicting judgments from the Bombay High Court.
In Nimbalkar’s case, when the matter had come up for hearing on June 27, the court had asked for re-investigation after some high-profile names surfaced in the narco-analysis of a suspect.
Justice Mhase had observed that the issue was serious and the investigation was not making any progress.
“We express our dissatisfaction and impose cost of Rs 15,000 on the state government,” Justice Mhase said on Friday.
Additional Public Prosecutor Poornima Kantharia, however, informed the court that the investigating officer was present in the court and he had brought all the documents regarding investigation carried out in the case.
She also said that Borulkar was busy arguing before the specially constituted full bench.
But the court stated that the proceedings could not continue in the absence of the assigned prosecutor. The date was fixed after checking convenience of the investigating officer and the prosecutor, the bench held.
The court held that this was being done to dodge the matter.
Express News Service
Posted online: Saturday , July 19, 2008 at 05:21:22Updated: Saturday , July 19, 2008 at 05:21:22
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