Police directed to record statement against Radhe Maa

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has asked police to record the statement of a city resident who had alleged that self-styled godwoman Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa had instigated her in-laws to harass her for dowry. Justice Sadhana Jadhav gave this direction to the Borivali police here while recently hearing an application filed by Niki Gupta pleading that she may be allowed to assist the police in conducting further probe on the basis of her statement.

The high court asked the Borivali police to record Gupta's statement and, if necessary, take further action as per law. The complainant's case is that police had dropped the name of Radhe Maa from the list of accused on the ground that there was no evidence against her, and she (Gupta) was not informed about it. Gupta pleaded that police should record her statement and conduct further investigation.

"If evidence is found then action may be taken against Radhe Maa," the complainant prayed. Gupta said the police did not inform her about dropping the charges against Radhe Maa and also did not file a report on the issue before a magistrate. Hence, she did not get a chance to assist police in the investigation.

The high court was of the view that the complainant has a right to seek further investigation if he or she is not satisfied with the probe. The police can conduct further probe under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) even though charges have been dropped against accused, the judge ruled while asking the police to record the statement of the complainant. "She (Gupta) is permitted to demonstrate as to what are the lacunae in the earlier investigation and that the chargesheet is not filed in persuasion to allegations made by her," Justice Jadhav said.

Gupta had earlier filed an application making a similar plea before a magistrate. However, the magistrate sought the say of the accused while deciding her application.

The high court opined that the lower court had erred in seeking the say of the accused because an accused has no locus standi in the investigations. Hence, the judge asked the Borivali police to record the statement of the complainant and take action as per law, if required.