File Picture Courtesy : The Hindu
The Supreme Court in its ruling has clearly dismissed a PIL to reopen Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination case. A bench of Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao rejected the petition both on maintainability and on merits. The Court held that such a plea was not maintainable in seeking to reopen a murder case after seventy years when the convicts have also been executed.
On merit, the bench brushed aside the contentions in the PIL raising questions on the ‘three bullets theory’ and the alleged involvement of a foreign agency.
According to petitioner Dr Pankaj Phadnis, it was a “fourth” bullet fired by a mysterious person that took the Mahatma’s life and that the faulty investigation was the biggest cover-up in the history of India.
Sharan, in his report, had maintained that allegation raised regarding involvement of some foreign intelligence agency in the assassination was baseless and not substantiated by any evidence.
The bench dismissed these arguments, and relies upon the submissions of senior advocate Amarendra Sharan, who was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the Court
Phadnis’ previous petition, seeking reopening of the Gandhi murder case, was dismissed by a high court earlier. Dr Phadnis, in his petition, claimed that Gandhi’s death should be probed, as there was still a complete myth about the fourth bullet being fired by the convict.
