The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and the State of Uttar Pradesh in a petition seeking expeditious CBI probe into the alleged murder of Manish Gupta, a Kanpur-based property dealer. The petition was filed by Meenakshi Gupta, wife of the deceased.

The bench comprising of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice B.V. Nagarathna issued notice and listed it for November 12 for further hearing. According to the police, they had information on “suspicious” men living at the hotel. Pursuant to the same, they entered the room where Manish Gupta was staying with his two friends to check their identities. They further claimed that Manish Gupta was drunk and while they were questioning the three men, he fell and suffered a head injury. He was taken to the BRD Medical College where he died while undergoing treatment.

The counsel for the petitioner has pleaded that the recommendation has already been made by State of Uttar Pradesh for CBI inquiry. The petitioner states that she has no faith in the investigation being carried out by the SIT considering the status and power of the accused persons and the overt actions undertaken by the local administration and police authorities to shield them. Further, a long time has lapsed and the matter is yet to be taken up by CBI for investigation.

The petitioner has also prayed that the trial should be conducted by the CBI court in Delhi as carrying the trial within Uttar Pradesh would not be conducive to a fair trial and a just outcome in as much as the accused are powerful and well-connected police personnel. Further, the carrying out of the trial in Delhi is crucial inter-alia to ensure safety and security of key eye-witnesses and associated persons and to ensure that the trial is not compromised by the influential and powerful accused persons.

The facts of the case state that the petitioner’s husband was on a visit to Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh on the day of the incident and he was staying at the Krishna Palace Hotel. SHO Jagat Narayan Singh, Sub-Inspectors Akshay Mishra, Vijay Yadav and Rahul Dubey, Head Constable Kamlesh Yadav and Constable Prashant Kumar arrived at the hotel in the late hours of the night. In a shocking display of high-handedness and police brutality, they proceeded to viciously assault the petitioner’s husband, leading to his death, the petition claimed.

The Appointment Committee of cabinet today has issued an Office Memorandum in which it has approved appointments to Foreign/ Captive Posts under the Department of Economic affair and Department of Commerce. The appointment has been made for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Below are the Cabinet approved appointments; –

1. Shri Ravi Kota, IAS, (AM: 1993) for the post of Minister (Economic) (Joint Secretary Level), Embassy of India, Washington DC, USA under the Department of Economic Affairs.
2. Shri Rajeev Topno, IAS (GJ: 1996) for the post of Senior Advisor (Joint Secretary Level) to the ED, World Bank, Washington DC, USA under the Department of Economic Affairs.
3. Shri  Lekhan Thakkar, CSS for the post of Counsellor (Economic) (Director Level), Embassy of India, Beijing, China under the Department of Economic Affairs.
4. Shri H. Atheli, ICAS (2000) for the post of Advisor (Director Level) to ED, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines under the Department of Economic Affairs.
5. Shri Brajendra Navnit, IAS (TN: 1999) for the post of Ambassador and PRI (Joint Secretary Level) to the WTO, PMI to WTO, Geneva, Switzerland under the Department of Commerce.
6. Shri Anwar Hussain Shaik, IRTS (2000) for the post of Counsellor (Director Level), PMI to WTO, Geneva, Switzerland under the Department of Commerce.
7. Shri N. Ashok Kumar, IAS (MN: 2004) for the post of Advisor, (Industry and Engineering) (Director Level), Embassy of India, Brussels, Belgium under the Department of Commerce.