The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against a fresh FIR registered in 2020 by the Chhattisgarh Police to investigate the probability of a larger political conspiracy behind a Naxal attack that killed several senior Congress leaders in Bastar in 2013.
“We are not inclined to entertain the Special Leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution. The Special Leave Petition is accordingly dismissed,” a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.
The NIA had assailed an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court in March last year refusing to quash the FIR.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the NIA, said 28 people were killed and 33 were injured in the attack.
Mr. Raju said the NIA was entrusted with the investigation of the attack in 2013 pursuant to an order passed by the Union government under Section 6 of the National Investigation Agency Act.
However, the second FIR was registered by the police in 2020 to investigate allegations of a larger conspiracy.
Mr. Raju said the FIR was based on the same incident and should be probed by the NIA itself.
The complainant, in turn, argued that the second FIR was not lodged on the basis of the same offence. The first FIR was restricted to the attack while the second one concerned the “deliberate lack of security”.
Senior advocate Atmaram Nadkarni, appearing for Chattisgarh, said the NIA was trying to stall the investigation into the second FIR.
“The NIA is unwilling to investigate. That’s why we say let CBI... Conspiracy by itself is a standalone offence,” Mr. Nadkarni argued.
