Thread by @utkarsh_aanand

#SushantSinghRajput case hearing to shortly begin in the #SupremeCourt.

Sr adv Maninder Singh will appear for state of Bihar today.

Sr adv Abhishek Manu Singhvi to represent #Maharashtra Govt.

Hearing begins.

At adv Shyam Divan, for #RheaChakraborty, commences arguments.

#RheaChakroborty to #SupremeCourt:

* FIR at Patna is bad in law

* Considerable delay of 38 days in registration of FIR

* Serious apprehension of bias

* Ends of justice will meet if jurisdiction lies only with Mumbai Police

Shyam Divan, for #Rhea, refers to the affidavit filed by her a day ago. He points out that the place of occurrence is in Mumbai, not in Patna.

He also reads out the complaint by Sushant's father to Patna Police.

#SushantSinghRajputCase

All the events narrated by Sushant's father also relate to #Mumbai, says Divan as he tries to show from Sushant's father's complaint that everything happened in #Mumbai.

#Rhea to SC, through her lawyer:

* I was in love with #Sushant

* I was traumatised after his death

* But I have been victimised now

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Divan cites 2013 advisory by the MHA regarding territorial jurisdiction for investigations of cases.

He reads out the advisory to state purpose of Zero FIRs and the need to transfer the case to the police station having territorial jurisdiction.

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Rhea's lawyer now refers to the affidavit by #MumbaiPolice:

* #MumbaiPolice have recorded statements of 56 persons

* All angles are being looked into is what the affidavit says

* Status report on investigation has also been filed confidentially

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Rhea's lawyer now talks about application by #CBI to be added as a party:

* Executive directions can't override SC's powers

* Transfer to CBI was an event after my filing of the petition

* SC can still allow my transfer petition and send the matter to #MumbaiPolice

Shyam Divan reads out from the media reports to make a point that FIR at Patna got to be registered due to "political bias" even after there was a substantial delay.

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Rhea's lawyer:

#Rhea deserves complete fairness in investigation and trial, especially since there are political pressures and compulsions in the case.

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Divan to SC: "Some observations by this court is necessary to stop trial by media. Disquieting and undesirable to have this kind of a media trial where potential witnesses are being used."

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As Divan concludes, Dr AM Singhvi, for #Maharashtra says that the state is also opposing registration of #FIR at Patna on ground of jurisdiction.

SC to #Rhea: Do you want CBI to investigate or not?

Rhea's lawyer: I want a fair investigation. I have a strong disquiet the manner in which Bihar made that recommendation and #CBI took over. This matter must go to Mumbai first. And if the CBI has to come in, it could come later

Justice Hrishikesh Roy to Divan: So you have reservations against the manner in which it came to go to the CBI. You might as well be feeling like a victim the manner in which media might have been reporting. But you also want a fair investigation. Is that right?

Divan: Yes

Sr adv Maninder Singh, for #Bihar, cited a 2011 SC judgment to say that Inquest proceedings had to end by the date of post-mortem.

"There can't be continuation of an inquest after the final post-mortem, which was over in this case on June 25."

Bihar to SC: "Once the cause of death is known, police have to either close the case or lodge an FIR .And Maharashtra govt hasn't registered any FIR. Mumbai Police couldn't have done anything after June 25 when Sushant's post mortem was finalised."

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#Bihar govt to SC: Political pressure is working in Maharashtra in this case & so no FIR was registered.

"Mumbai Police didn't cooperate with Bihar Police. It is they who have to hide several things," Maninder Singh.

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Singh adds that despite adverse comments by this court, Bihar SP Vinay Tiwari wasn't immediately released from forced quarantine.

He emphasises issues of jurisdiction can't be raised at the stage of initial investigations.

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Singh, for #Bihar: "There can't be a plea to transfer a case until investigation is over & a final report is prepared. This petition by #RheaChakraborty isn't maintainable. Till the time the investigations are over, it is the duty of every IO to investigate cognisable offences."

Singh: "What kind of an investigation #MumbaiPolice has been undertaking for the last 50 days? Inquest proceedings can't be unending. And most importantly, there is nothing pending in #Mumbai at the moment."

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Singh: Someone has to do दूध का दूध पानी का पानी. We can't let social media conduct investigation.

"#MumbaiPolice wasn't doing anything, it still isn't doing anything and then they talk about political pressure and Bihar CM putting pressure."

AM Singhvi, for #Maharashtra Govt:

* #CBI shouldn't have come to SC as a party

* #Bihar govt had no jurisdiction

* It is also about a much larger issue about how federalism is being sought to be subverted

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Singhvi also raises a point on jurisdiction of a single judge bench in the #SupremeCourt to transfer the probe to the #CBI.

"The kind of attention this petition has, truth is the casualty & CrPC has been murdered."

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Singhvi: "#Maharashtra is sought to be given a bad name and the law is being turned on its head. I was amused to see what #Bihar Police had to say. Principles of federalism will take a hit if such arguments are accepted.'

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#Maharashtra Govt tells SC that it is all about politics.

Singhvi submits that since #Bihar has to go to elections, all this is happening.

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Singhvi: "Consent by a state is mandatory for CBI to probe.. Only exceptions are order of the CBI probe by high courts and Supreme Court. And this power must be exercised by a constitutional court sparingly, only in rare cases."

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"Under Section 406 of the CrPC, can a single judge transfer the case to the #CBI? This is also an important area since the transfer petitions are for transferring the case from A to B," contends Singhvi.

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Singhvi: "Process of ascertaining death doesn't die with post-mortem. It will remain a matter of investigation if unnatural circumstances led to a suicide."

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Singhvi: "Sensationalism can't change the law. Everyone is equal under the law, quarantining a particular person wont change that. Without a finding of the perversity by this court, CBI can't come in."

Singhvi concludes

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Vikas Singh commences his arguments for Sushant's father.

Singh: "I don't want to cite media reports or say it but they have been making the (Maharashtra) CM's son."

Singhvi: One art of saying it by saying I don't want to say it.

Singh: We learn from each other every day

Sushant's father through Vikas Singh: "All I want is a fair investigation. And I don't trust Mumbai Police any more. They have been taking investigation to a completely different direction."

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Singh: "#MumbaiPolice summoned everyone else but not the real suspects or accused. The dead body itself will show marks on the neck could be of a belt. It has to be she (Rhea) who controlled everything and she had to be investigated but Mumbai Police was doing something else."

Vikas Singh adds that a preliminary investigation can't go beyond seven days. But Mumbai Police went on and on and didn't even go after the real accused.

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"Consequence of using and exploiting my son, and consequences of criminal beach of trust and cheating, these all happened at Patna. So Patna Police had the jurisdiction to register the FIR under Section 179 of the CrPC," submits Singh.

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Sushant's father to SC: "Larger picture is I lost my son. Mumbai Police doesn't listen to me and take the investigations to a completely different direction.
My daughter could enter into after the body was reportedly brought down. Nobody in family has seen his body hanging."

Vikas Singh claims that #Maharashtra Govt changes rules on Aug 3, a day after Bihar SP Vinay Tiwari was quarantined forcibly. "It was to disable the investigation," claims the senior counsel, representing Sushant's father.

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"When Rhea also wants CBI probe, this court should put its stamp of approval and ensure home quarantine rule is not applicable to police officers."

Vikas Singh concludes

SG Tushar Mehta commences his arguments for #CBI. He refers to the affidavit by Mumbai Police to question how has the affidavit used the word "investigation" without registering an FIR under the CrPC.

If it was just an inquest, there can't be an investigation.

"The affidavit by Mumbai Police shows a foregone conclusion that it was a suicide...Truth has to be elicited. Investigations must take place and investigations have to be fair, extensive and truth-eliciting," submits Mehta.

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Mehta: "Scope of inquest is very limited, to ascertain injuries etc. An inquest proceeding cannot be a substitute for an investigation. And in this case, Mumbai Police hasn't even brought in record whether the inquest proceedings were finalised and submitted before a magistrate."

Mehta, for #CBI: "We don't know if petitioner (#Rhea) is a witness, an accused, a complainant or a nobody in this case but we can say that no case was pending in #Mumbai when she filed her petition for transfer of the case."

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Tushar Mehta questions how did #MumbaiPolice summon 56 persons and recorded their statements.

"They can't do it under inquest proceedings and they never lodged an FIR to investigate."

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Mehta: "The only pending investigation is in #Bihar. Whether that is valid or not is not something that can become subject matter of a transfer petition. What #MumbaiPolice has submitted here is unauthorised recording of statements."

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Enforcement Directorate is already investigating. Once one central agency has registered a case, another central agency (CBI) should be engaged: Mehta

Shyam Divan, for #Rhea, now submits:

* Effective investigation will be in Mumbai

* When Mumbai happens to be the place of original jurisdiction, the investigations have to be transmitted to Mumbai

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Divan adds:

* FIR in Bihar was at the behest of the CM there

* If we want to have a fair investigation, it can't be at the instance of Bihar Police

* Allow this transfer petition

* Confine this case to the principles of transfer petition

#SushantSingRajputDeathCase

Bihar alleges political clout to stop registration of FIR in Mumbai.

Tushar Mehta: Arguments on CMs respectively by Maharashtra and Bihar itself will make it a fit case for a CBI inquiry

#SupremeCourt reserves its judgment in the #SushantSinghRajputDeathCase.

Written submissions to be filed by Thursday.