Special court to fast-track pending CBI cases
14 July 2010
Special court to fast-track pending CBI cases
| Font Size |
AADITI JATHAR LAKADE,AADITI JATHAR LAKADE
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 at 0357 hrs IST
Pune In a move that is expected to reduce the number of pending cases, the Government of India has approved the setting up of a special court in Pune to deal exclusively with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases in the district by the end of this year. The court is supposed to dispose of cases within two years from the date of filing the charge-sheet.
The government has approved the creation of 71 such courts throughout the country as per the proposal of the CBI.
The CBI court in Pune will be one of the six CBI courts being set up in Maharashtra — the others include three in Mumbai and one each in Amravati and Nagpur — director of CBI Ashwani Kumar said. He said that these courts will be functional by the end of this year.
“The number of CBI cases pending trial is increasing every year on account of the huge gap between annual institution of cases and their disposal by courts,” Kumar said.
“These exclusive courts are expected to hold day-to-day trials and avoid unnecessary adjournments. In order to ensure that trials are conducted expeditiously and judgments delivered quickly, we have decided to adhere to the norm of a maximum of 50 cases per court and not more than 50 cases per prosecuting officer. Further, we propose to create prosecution teams to assist all CBI prosecutors,” the CBI web portal stated.
At present, two major cases - RTI activist Satish Shetty’s murder case and adoption irregularities in Preet Mandir, along with other complaints are being investigated by the CBI’s anti-corruption bureau in Pune. The number of pending CBI cases for the state stands at around 900.
“The special CBI court will surely help in speeding up the trial. However, it has to be complemented with good and speedy investigation,” said Sandip Shetty, brother of slain activist Satish Shetty. It is only last month that the CBI took over the investigation of his murder case.
On the other hand, advocate Harshad Numbalkar, member, Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa said, “A special CBI court in Pune is not necessary right now as there are very few CBI cases in Pune district.” In the absence of a CBI special court, these cases are heard by the chief judicial magistrate or additional chief judicial magistrate. Nimbalkar said that CBI cases can be easily handed over to these judges.
On track
Functional by year end, the court in Pune is one of the six CBI courts being set up in Maharashtra. The others include three in Mumbai and one each in Amravati and Nagpur.
Functional by year end, the court in Pune is one of the six CBI courts being set up in Maharashtra. The others include three in Mumbai and one each in Amravati and Nagpur.