The Supreme Court dismissed a petition by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the state of Maharashtra, and the Bureau of Immigration challenging the Bombay High Court’s quashing of lookout circulars (LOCs) issued against the actress, her brother Showik, and her father, Lt Col Indrajit Chakraborty (retd), in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, providing relief for Rhea Chakraborty.
According to Live Law, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan verbally stated that the petition was “frivolous” and was only filed because the defendants were “high-profile.”
“We’re issuing a warning. Because one of the accused is well-known, you are submitting a pointless petition. The cost will be excellent. According to the report, when the CBI counsel asked for a pass-over of the case, Justice Gavai responded, “Both individuals have deep roots in society.”
Justice Gavai stated, “We will pass over if you want the cost and some compliments to CBI.”
The Bombay High Court revoked the CBI’s 2020 LOC against Rhea Chakraborty and her two relatives about Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in February. A bench of judges, Revati Mohite Dere and Manjusha Deshpande, granted Rhea Chakraborty, her brother, and their father’s petitions against the LOCs issued against them that forbade them from travelling abroad.
A LOC issued by an investigating agency may ask the Bureau of Immigration to hold an individual, prevent them from boarding an aircraft, or notify the relevant agency of their departure from the nation.
Weeks after a vacation bench suspended the LOC in December to allow Rhea Chakraborty to go to Dubai for a meet-and-greet event despite the CBI’s adamant resistance, the high court judgement lifted the LOC.
Because the actor was the subject of a first information report (FIR), the court had questioned the justification for giving LOCs at earlier sessions. based only on filing a formal complaint.
Since Sushant Singh Rajput’s family first filed the FIR in Patna before the CBI took over the case in Delhi, the question of jurisdiction also generated discussion. In support of Mumbai’s jurisdiction, Rhea Chakraborty’s solicitors emphasised the parties’ residences and the site of the investigations.
The bench emphasised the necessity for closure in judicial proceedings by voicing worries about a case that has been ongoing since 2020 in which the CBI has not issued a charge sheet. Additionally, the court questioned the justification for giving LOCs.
The family solicitors for Rhea Chakraborty argued that the LOC should only have been granted if there was hard proof that the defendant was purposefully evading capture or legal action.
In 2020, Sushant Singh Rajput was discovered dead. Numerous authorities, including the CBI and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), conducted investigations when Sushant Singh Rajput died in his Bandra house on June 14, 2020, sparking controversy and conjecture. The probe’s focus was Rhea Chakraborty, who was dating Sushant Singh Rajput at the time.
After the Supreme Court transferred an FIR to the CBI from Patna, the CBI became involved. LOCs were issued against Rhea and her brother as part of the investigation.
