The Chhattisgarh High Court here on Wednesday dismissed a writ appeal filed by the state government, challenging an earlier order of the court directing handing over the probe into the killing of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel by Naxals in April to the NIA.
Upholding the single-bench order passed last month, a division bench comprising Chief Justice P R Ramchandra Menon and Justice P P Sahu directed the government to hand over the probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Chhattisgarh's Advocate General (AG) Satishchandra Verma said.
The bench had reserved its order in the case on November 13, he added.
The government had sought that the incident be probed by the local police, Verma said.
The bench said the government was bound to comply with the provisions of the NIA Act, he added.
The court directed the government to hand over the entire case records, along with the documents pertaining to the investigation into the incident, to the NIA, Verma said.
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The AG, however, said the state government will file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Mandavi and four police personnel, travelling in a vehicle, were killed in a powerful IED blast triggered by Maoists near Shyamgiri village of Dantewada on April 9.
On the direction of the Union home ministry, the NIA registered a case in May under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Indian Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the incident, the lawyer of the central agency, Kishore Bhaduri, had said earlier.
When the NIA sleuths reached Bastar, the local police refused to hand over the case documents to them, Bhaduri had said.
The NIA then approached its designated local court. However, after failing to get any relief there, it approached the high court in June.
On October 23, the bench of Justice R C S Samant ordered the state government to hand over the probe to the NIA. However, the state government filed a writ appeal in the division bench, challenging the order.
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