Delhi HC issues notice to CBI on arrested cop's plea for interim bail in 2021 murder case

New Delhi [India], September 11 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the CBI in a plea moved by arrested Inspector Jagat Narayan Singh of UP Police. He is one of six policemen accused in businessman Manish Gupta murder case of Gorakhpur in 2021. He has sought 45 days interim bail to attend and contest the departmental proceedings before the SSP Gorakhpur.
Justice Amit Mahajan issued notice to the CBI and sought a response. The matter has been listed on October 1 for hearing.
Advocate Kanhaiya Singhal has moved an application on behalf of Jagat Narayan Singh seeking interim bail on the ground that he has to attend and contest his disciplinary proceedings ongoing before the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), District Gorakhpur, UP.
It has been submitted that the petitioner, who is a government servant, has been subjected to the disciplinary proceedings initiated by his department/senior officials only because of the present case, and the repeated notices were issued to him to attend the disciplinary proceedings on various dates, i.e. 18.06.2022, 17.11.2022, 04.02.2023, 28.04.2023, 25.01.2023 and 26.02.2024 and to file an appropriate reply.
It is further submitted that if the petitioner does not join and contest the proceedings, he may be dismissed from his service without getting a chance of proper hearing, in violation of the principles of natural justice.
The Rouse Avenue Court on August 27 dismissed the interim bail application filed by the petitioner, and thus, due to the said dismissal of the interim bail application, the petitioner is not able to appear before the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), District Gorakhpur, UP, and suitably contest the said disciplinary proceedings.
In this case, the investigation was taken over by CBI, SCB, Lucknow by re-registering the case on 02.11.2021. By the time CBI took over the investigation of the case in 2021, the case crime was investigated by SIT, Kanpur constituted by the state police.
The SIT identified the unnamed accused police officials as SI Rahul Dubey, Head Constable Kamlesh Yadav, and Constable Prashant Kumar and as such, they were made accused in the case along with three others already named in the FIR.
The case of the prosecution is that on the invitation of Chandan Saini of Gorakhpur, Pardeep Kumar decided to visit Gorakhpur by road in his car on September 6, 2021. Pardeep Kumar asked his cousin Harbir to go along with him to Gorakhpur for sightseeing. Pardeep Kumar requested deceased Manish Gupta to join them, and after reaching Gorakhpur they checked in to room no. 512 on the 3rd floor of Hotel Krishna Palace in the morning of September 2, 2021. At that point of time, Adarsh Pandey was on duty at the reception of the hotel.
It is alleged that the deceased and his friends were beaten by the police party. Manish Gupta had succumbed to the injuries.