HC dismisses PIL seeking probe into Anil Madhav Dave's death

The Madhya Pradesh High Court today dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, which sought a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of former Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave.
The court said it could not entertain a petition merely on the basis of newspaper reports.
Dave had died on May 18, 2017, following a heart attack.
Tapan Bhattacharya, an activist, had filed the PIL.
A division bench of justices P K Jaiswal and Virender Singh dismissed the petition.
"The petition, which is only based on newspaper reports, is not maintainable....no effort has been made by the petitioner to enquire and collect necessary data and material in respect of the events and no attempt has been made by him to verify the factual position," it said.

Bhattacharya, in his petition, had claimed that a cartel of multi-national companies was putting pressure on the central government to give permission for commercial farming of genetically-modified mustard and that Dave, with his nationalist ideology, was not in favour of it.
The PIL had cited newspaper reports to term the circumstances surrounding Dave's death suspicious and demanded a judicial probe.