Home » National News » Mahatma Gandhi assassination: Supreme Court rejects Abhinav Bharat’s plea to re-investigate the case
 
SPEED NEWS

Mahatma Gandhi assassination: Supreme Court rejects Abhinav Bharat’s plea to re-investigate the case

Speed News Desk | Updated on: 28 March 2018, 12:49 IST
Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court rejected a plea of Abhinav Bharat seeking to reinvestigate into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

A bench of Supreme Court which comprises Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao dismissed the petition moved by Mumbai-based Pankaj Phadnis from Abhinav Bharat. The bench said that they will go by ‘sentiments’ but rely on legal submissions to decide on the petition.


The bench earlier had said that the plea seeking reinvestigation of the case was based on academic research. It could not be the basis to reopen the matter which took place years ago.

The petitioner questioned the ‘three bullet theory’ on the basis of which the conviction of Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte who were convicted and hanged. Various courts relied upon the ‘three bullet theory’. He argued that there was a need to examine whether there was fourth bullet with which Gandhi was killed. And the fourth bullet was fired by someone other than Godse.

Phadnis, trustee of charitable trust Abhinav Bharat, had also demanded to expunge the “adverse, unfounded” remarks made by the Kapur Commission in 1969 report against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and to form a commission to probe the conspiracy behind the incident.

Phadnis alleged that the Maratha community was “maligned” due to these ‘adverse’ remarks. Hence, these remarks should be erased. He said there should be retrial of the case in which Godse and Apte were convicted and executed on 15 November, 1949.

However, the court made it clear that it does not think that Marathas have been maligned. The bench said “Maratha people have survived in spite of all this. You are talking about two persons who happened to be from Maharashtra. They do not represent the state. Observation about two persons does not malign whole Marathis."

First published: 28 March 2018, 12:49 IST