In a relief for former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh, the Bombay High Court today dismissed a public interest litigation seeking CBI inquiry against him for alleged property grabbing and intimidation.
A division bench of Justices P V Hardas and Mridula Bhatkar dismissed the petition filed by Tulsidas Nair, noting that an inquiry conducted by a magistrate on the high court's order had given a clean chit to Singh.
"The magistrate's report found that none of the grievances were genuine. The petitioner also had adequate remedies like filing private complaint under section 156 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. Therefore the reliefs sought in the petition cannot be granted," the High Court said.
Under section 156 (3) of CrPC, a magistrate can direct police to conduct investigation and register a case if there is a substance in the complaint.
Apart from CBI inquiry, Nair had also sought compensation. The petition alleged that Kripashankar and his son usurped Nair's properties worth crores in suburban Mumbai and were threatening to kill him if he did not vacate his house in suburban Kalina.
The High Court, however, said police protection provided to Nair as per an earlier order would continue, and if police wanted to withdraw it, they will have to seek its permission.
According to the magistrate, Nair did not produce any record to prove that he had to sell his properties because of the threats and "torture".
