SC rejects CBI probe into Mathura violence; asks state govt to decide

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order a CBI probe into the recent violence in Mathura that left 29 people, including two policemen dead, saying it was for the state government to decide. “From your petition, there is no evidence to suggest there is any lapse on the part of state investigating agency or no steps are being taken for fair probe. Without any evidence that state investigating agencies are not working properly, courts cannot interfere,” a vacation bench comprising Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy said. The bench said that petitioner Ashwini Upadhaya cannot approach the apex court through a PIL when a plea on similar issue is already pending before the Allahabad High Court. “You approach the Allahabad High Court for the remedy,” the bench said. It further said it was not inclined to pass any order and courts cannot order a CBI probe as “a matter of routine as it is for the state government concerned to decide on the issue of handing over the probe to CBI”. [caption id=“attachment_2814944” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A scene during clashes between the police and the encroachers who were being evicted from Jawahar Bagh in Mathura on 2 June. PTI[/caption] It did not allow the submission of senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for Upadhaya, that the petition before the High Court was limited on the issue of encroachment of the park and that has nothing to do with the subsequent violence. The bench asked the petitioner to withdraw the petition and termed it as dismissed as withdrawn. The apex court had yesterday agreed to hear the plea which had sought an urgent hearing saying CBI probe was necessary considering the gravity of the violence. Twenty nine people, including Mathura SP Mukul Dwivedi and SHO Santosh Kumar Yadav, were killed in the clash between the police and encroachers that broke out in the city on 2 June, when police tried to evict illegal occupants, believed to be of Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi, from Jawahar Bagh on Allahabad High Court orders. Upadhyay, in his plea, had said the court may also take suo motu cognizance of the matter and direct the CBI enquiry, as “it is necessary to find out the truth, root cause of the incident and nexus among executive, legislature and the said group”. The petitioner had sought a direction to the state and the Centre for framing of a uniform policy for compensation for families of the deceased in such cases. It had also claimed that while the union government was ready for a CBI inquiry into the incident, the state government was developing a cold feet in recommending it.