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SC orders parents’ trial in Aarushi case
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, January 6
The Supreme Court on Friday directed dentist couple, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, to face trial in the sensational case relating to the murder of their 14-year-old daughter, Aarushi, at their Noida house in 2008.

A Bench comprising Justices AK Ganguly and JS Khehar dismissed the appeal filed by them, challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court. The HC had, on March 18, 2011, rejected their plea for quashing the summons issued to them by the Ghaziabad trial court on February 9, 2011 after taking congnisance of the CBI chargesheet in the case.

Aarushi, the only child of the Talwars, was found dead with her throat slit on the night of May 15-16, 2008, while the body of their domestic help, Hemraj, was noticed lying on the terrace the next day.

Rejecting Talwars’ appeal, the SC Bench ruled that the higher judiciary should normally desist from interfering with the trial court’s decision to go ahead with the trial. “In this case, the magistrate has applied his mind and passed a reasoned order for taking cognisance,” it noted.

Through the order passed today, the SC has vacated the stay on the trial granted by it on March 19, 2011.

The apex court did not accept the argument of Talwars’ counsel that the trial court could not have decided to hold the trial, rejecting the closure report filed by the CBI for want of evidence.

Citing a catena of judgments, the apex court said the magistrate was not bound by closure reports and could apply his mind to find prima facie case against the accused.

“The SC could not be turned into a “mini-trial court,” it reasoned. Initially, the case was investigated by the Uttar Pradesh Police which arrested Rajesh on May 23, 2008. The CBI took over the probe on May 29, 2008, while a Ghaziabad court granted bail to him on July 11, 2008.

After probing the case for 2.5 years, the CBI filed its closure report in the special court at Ghaziabad, contending that it was unable to gather any evidence to prosecute Talwars.