WILL THE MUMBAI POLICE HAVE TO ABANDON THEIR INVESTIGATION NOW?
At this point, there is no need for the Mumbai police to close their investigation. Just because the CBI has started its own investigation does not mean that a state police should abandon theirs.
The CBI does not have the power to unilaterally withdraw a case from a state police force; in fact, that is why the UP government had to make a referral to transfer the Lucknow case to them. Under the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Law, which governs the operation of the IWC, the IWC can in fact only conduct an investigation in another state with the permission of that state.
However, what could throw a key in the works is an order from the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court of India. The superior courts and the superior court have the power to order a CBI investigation into a matter regardless of the consent of the state government, and can also order the closure of the investigation by the state police.
Regarding all this controversy over the PRT, Republic has already asked for the investigation to be transferred to the IWC, first to the Supreme Court and then to the Bombay High Court after the SC told it to go there first. The fact that the CBI began its investigation so soon after Republic made this request is one of the reasons its movement has been viewed with suspicion.
During a hearing on the matter on Monday, October 19, the court did not address the issue of transferring the case to the CBI, but instead addressed the issue of issuing subpoenas to Republic staff. However, now that the CBI has started its own investigation, this is likely to become a problem at the upcoming hearing on November 5, before which the Mumbai police have to present some details of their investigation to the court in a sealed document. cover.
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