Supreme Court Dismisses Plea For Enquiry Into Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Death

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation initiated seeking inquiry into the death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan refused to entertain the PIL saying that it was not a matter which the Court could decide.

The petitioner, who appeared in person, submitted that death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose remains a "mystery" and there is no conclusive outcome on his disappearance, as different enquiry commissions gave different reports.

"This PIL is filed to give due and natural justice to Netaji...he did not die in plane crash (in Taiwan)...he died on 16 September, 1985 in Ayodhya...it is a matter of great pain and shame that during this period, we could not give justice to Netaji. There are already 3 commissions on Netaji, but still, there is no final result on disappearance/death mystery...In the 3rd commission, the former justice of Supreme Court Mr Manoj Mujherjee said in his report that Netaji did not die on 18 August 1945 in the plane crash...", he said.

However, Justice Kant told the petitioner, "You should go to the appropriate forum/authority...these are all policy matters...whether one inquiry commission was right [or another]...experts are there...some historian, some historical...those who themselves keep updated about all the political journey of this country...they are in a better position. Parliament may be in a better position. How can we decide these issues? We are not the experts of everything...sometimes, in a so-called quest for doing justice, we can commit something wrong..."

When the petitioner persisted, the judge remarked, "aap political worker hain na, apni party mei jaaiye aur mudda uthaiye. Supreme Court har cheez ki dawa nahi hai. Ye Sarkar ke kaam hain. Sarkar ko chalana court ka kaam nahi hai (You are a political worker, right? You go to your party and raise the issue. Supreme Court is not the remedy for everything. This is the job of the government. It's not the Court's job to run government)".

Ultimately, the bench refused to entertain the plea. Notably, the petitioner, Pinaki Pani Mohanty, had also sought a a declaration that Indian independence was attained by the Azad Hind Fauj.

In April, while considering the petition, the Court had expressed dissatisfaction with the "reckless and irresponsible" allegations made against some national leaders, who are no longer alive. The Court had also raised doubts about the bona fides of the petitioner.

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