M A I N   N E W S

HC rejects Talwars’ plea against CBI court order
Says summons valid; dentist couple cited as accused
Parmindar Singh
Tribune News Service

Noida, March 18
The Allahabad High Court today turned down two petitions of Rajesh Talwar and his wife Nupur against the CBI court's order to charge them for murders of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj. The latest order has cleared the way for the trial of Talwars in the 2008 double murder case.

“There is no provision for prohibiting a magistrate from summoning a person if prima facie it appears that there is sufficient evidence against the person,” Justice Balakrishna Narayana said in his order on a petition filed by Nupur Talwar against a Special CBI court's order in Ghaziabad. The judge dismissed the criminal revision petition of Nupur against the CBI court proceedings saying the petition has “failed to provide any valid reason warranting the court's intervention at this stage”.

Besides, Justice Narayana observed that the CBI court order of February 9 was passed after a "perusal of the case diary and appears to be in order". The court approved the CBI's stand that the Talwars are the prime suspects in the case.

Talwars had challenged the CBI court order of February 9 in which the court had made Rajesh and Nupur as accused and asked them to appear before it. Later, when the couple failed to appear at the specified date, bailable warrants were issued against them. Nupur had challenged the CBI court order on the grounds that she was never made an accused earlier by the CBI. However, the HC ordered that Nupur should appear before the lower court within two weeks and she may move her bail application there.

The petition filed by Rajesh Talwar, challenging bailable warrants issued by the Ghaziabad court on February 28, was dismissed by Justice Ravindra Singh.

Rejecting Rajesh's contention that he was out on a regular bail and hence the lower court should not have issued bailable warrants against him without first cancelling the bail, Justice Singh remarked that Rajesh was released from jail in July, 2008 under Section 169 of the CrPC which was an interim arrangement.

Talwars will now have to appear before the Ghaziabad CBI court on Wednesday, the next date of hearing. If they fail to appear on that day, non-bailable warrants may be issued against them.

On 16, May 2008, 14-year old Aarushi Talwar was found dead in her Noida apartment at Jalvayu Vihar. The suspicion fell on Talwar’s servant Hemraj. But his body was recovered next day from the terrace.

The Noida Police had arrested Rajesh Talwar for the double murder. Later, the case was transferred to the CBI. Rajesh got bail as the CBI made three servants as accused. They, too, were released by the CBI as no evidence could be gathered against them. In December, the CBI had filed the closure report. But it made Rajesh Talwar as prime suspect and gave clean chit to servants. The CBI court, instead of accepting the closure report, made Talwars as accused against which the couple had moved the High Court.