Supreme Court affirms order for CBI probe into death of Raghunath, close aide of former MP Adikeshavalu

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the Karnataka High Court's September 3, 2022 order for the CBI investigation into 2019 mysterious death of K Raghunath, a close confidante of D K Adikeshavalu, a former Member of Parliament, who owned huge properties in Bengaluru and other places.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra declined a plea by D A Srinivas, one of the children of the MP, and others against the HC's order, passed on a petition by M Manjula, the wife of Raghunath and their son.

The wife of the deceased, who was into real estate buisness too, suspected murder of her husband after he went missing after having gone to meet the son of Adikeshavalu in May, 2019. There were disputes between both the families over the properties.

Considering separate challenges by Ramachandraiah and others and Srinivas and another to the HC's order, the bench said, "Once an FIR is registered and investigation has taken place, direction for an investigation by the CBI is not open to challenge by the prospective suspect or accused as the matter for entrusting investigation to a particular agency is basically at the discretion of the court."

Senior advocate Aman Lekhi, appearing for the appellants contended that the appellants’ legal right to defend themselves at the preliminary stage also is well recognised and if they apprehend of them being unnecessarily involved in a criminal prosecution, they are entitled to maintain this appeal to challenge the CBI investigation into the matter.

To this, the bench said it was settled in the matter of Union of India & Anr Vs W N Chadha (1993), that a prospective accused has no right to be heard at the stage of registration of FIR.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, and Dushyant Dave and advocates Mahesh Thakur, Anuparna Bordoloi, appearing for the wife and son of the deceased, contended that the appellants were not entitled to maintain these appeals as the present is the case where only an investigation has been directed.

Agreeing to the submission, Justice Mishra, who authored the 27-page judgment, on behalf of the bench, said, it has been settled in a catena of decisions that the High Court or the Supreme Court being Constitutional Court is vested with extra-ordinary power to direct CBI investigation depending upon the facts and circumstances of the case.

"The constitutional courts are expectantly and reverently entrusted with the duty to serve justice being a sovereign and premiere constitutional institution," the bench said.

In the case, the bench noted the judicial magistrate directed further investigation and the High Court has also highlighted the glaring defects in the investigation, carried out by the SIT, which filed a closure report.

"The fact remains that the truth surrounding the death of K Raghunath needs to be settled after a complete and fair investigation by the CBI which, in the facts and circumstances of the present case, has rightly been directed by the High Court," the bench opined.

The court ordered the CBI to conduct the investigation within a period of eight months. It directed State of Karnataka, represented by Additional Advocate General Nishanth Patil to render all possible assistance to the CBI to make a fair investigation into the crime.

"The entire papers shall be handed over by the concerned police to the CBI within 15 days. If the CBI proceeds to file chargesheet, the same shall be submitted before the jurisdictional CBI Court in the State of Karnataka," the court ordered.