Guj Court reserves order on jurisdiction in Prajapati case

Geeta Ahir, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in Banaskantha district, about 150km from Ahmedabad, will pronounce her order on September 18.

Former IPS officers O P Mathur, P C Pande, suspended senior officer Rajkumar Pandian and ex-investigator of the case R K Patel, who were also named as accused, had filed separate applications objecting to the filing of chargesheet in Danta instead of in the Special CBI Court in Ahmedabad, where FIR of this case was filed by CBI on April 29, 2011.

"When CBI filed the FIR in the Special Court in Ahmedabad, it clearly implied that Special CBI Court is the only Court which has jurisdiction (to hear the case)," argued S V Raju, the counsel for Mathur and the other three.

He cited a notification issued by Gujarat High Court assigning special powers and jurisdiction to two courts in Ahmedabad over all the cases registered by CBI in the state.

"Only this Special Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in Ahmedabad has the jurisdiction to not only take the cognisance of the chargesheet but the committal of this chargesheet to Sessions Court," argued Raju.

"Even the Supreme Court had, while transferring the case from Gujarat CID-Crime, directed CBI to file all papers, including FIR, in the Special Court. So by submitting the chargesheet here in regular Court, CBI has violated the SC order," he maintained.

The counsel requested the JMFC Court to not to take cognisance of the chargesheet. As per Section 190 of CrPC, the Danta Court is not bound to take the cognisance. Hence, it should ask CBI to take the chargesheet to Special CBI Court in Ahmedabad, Raju argued. (More)