The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, 5 August, heard actor Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of the FIR from Patna to Mumbai and stay on investigation by the Bihar police on allegations of abetment to suicide levelled by late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's father.
Rajput died on 14 June in what the police say was a case of suicide.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan and Mukul Rohatgi appeared for Chakroborty and the Bihar government respectively, in front of a single-judge bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy.
The plea by Rhea alleges "connivance” between Rajput’s father and the Bihar government, and states that she has been "falsely implicated" in the case, reports Live Law.
The actor further stated that she was in a live-in relationship with Rajput until 8 June, after which she shifted to her own home in Mumbai.
Solicitor-General Mukul Rohatgi, on the other hand, said that the Centre had accepted the Bihar government’s request for a CBI probe into the case.
‘Did Not Send the Right Signal’
Calling Rajput a "talented and gifted actor" who passed away under "unfortunate circumstances", the court sought a response from the Maharashtra government as to who will have jurisdiction to probe the case – the Mumbai Police, the Bihar Police or the CBI.
The court further criticised the Mumbai Police for quarantining officer, Vinay Tiwari, who was leading the team of investigators from the Bihar Police in Mumbai.
"It did not send the right signal," the court said.
“Serious allegations have been levelled against the petitioner. She has applied for transfer of proceedings from Patna to Mumbai. Bihar has entrusted it to CBI. SG Mehta submits that Centre has accepted CBI probe request," said Justice Roy, while dictating the order.
The court has given three days to all parties to reply. The state of Maharashtra also has to give the court an update on the investigation by Mumbai Police.
The next date of hearing will be scheduled in the following week.
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