Supreme Court appoints amicus curiae in petition seeking re-investigation of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday put some searching questions on a plea seeking reopening of the investigation into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

After a brief hearing, a bench comprising Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter. [caption id=“attachment_4115625” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Supreme Court. AP[/caption] During the hearing, which lasted for about 15 minutes, the apex court was initially of the view that “nothing can be done in law” in the case which has been decided long ago. However, it later told Sharan that its observation was not binding on him to make an assessment of the matter and posted it for further hearing on 30 October. The petition filed by Mumbai-based Dr Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, has sought reopening of the probe on several grounds, claiming it was one of the biggest cover-ups in history. Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi on 30 January, 1948 by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism.