Sushant Singh's Death Being Made Sensational, Maharashtra Govt Tells Bombay HC

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AS Gadkari heard two Public Interest Litigations seeking CBI probe into the death of the 34-year-old actor and deferred the hearing in the case till Friday after the Advocate General told the Court on behalf of the state government that copies of the two PILs have not been served to them.

In today's hearing before the Supreme Court, Centre informed Justice Hrishikesh Roy that it has accepted the Bihar Government's recommendation for a CBI probe into Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

Supreme Court is hearing actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of FIR filed against her by the late actor's father in Patna alleging abettment of suicide to Mumbai and a stay on the investigation by the Bihar police. The apex court granted 3 days to all parties to file a reply and sought an update from the State of Maharashtra on the Investigation done by Mumbai Police.

One of the petitioners before Bombay High Court is Sameet Thakkar, a 32-year-old businessman who alleges that high profile powerful people with political and underworld connections are involved in this case. Whereas the other petitioner is a lawyer, Priyanka Tibrewal, who practises in the Calcutta High Court.

Responding to Tibrewal's allegation that the case is sensational in nature and there are lot of unanswered questions, AG Ashutosh Kumbhakoni refuted the allegations saying there was nothing sensational in the case-

"It is just being made sensational, and the state has not received copies of either of the pleas."

Thereafter, Court directed the petitioners to serve copies of the respective PILs with all parties concerned and adjourned the hearing till Friday.

Following the actor's death, Mumbai Police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and an investigation is still underway in the case.

While Tibrewal sought directions for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team of the CBI to probe the case and that the probe be monitored by the High Court, Thakker's plea seeks constitution of an SIT or transfer of probe to CBI.

Tibrewal contended that "the Mumbai Police created a narrative of suicide" in the actor's case without adequately investigating it-

"The sudden death of a very successful person has created ripples in the minds of the public at large about the intricacies of nepotism prevalent in the film industry.

The incident has national and international ramifications to such a grave extent that an order for constituting an SIT of the CBI is necessary for ensuring transparency and justice,"

On the other hand, Thakker's plea alleges that the way in which Mumbai police is conducting the investigation in the present matter, it is clearly evident that there is a deliberate attempt to delay and prolong the investigation, as consequence of which the crucial and material evidence will be compromised.