Jabalpur/Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday reserved its order after hearing arguments on a petition seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh, mother-in-law of deceased actress Twisha Sharma.
The court also directed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be formally added as a party to the case.
The petition challenges the bail granted by a trial court to Giribala Singh, who is an accused in the suspected dowry death case of 33-year-old model-actor Twisha Sharma.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, strongly opposed the anticipatory bail.
He told the bench, “On the grounds on which Giribala Singh was granted bail, 90 per cent of people would get bail. What is the point of granting bail before the FIR? Even the case diary was not properly examined in the trial court.”
Mehta raised two main objections.
First, he questioned the timing of the bail, suggesting it was granted before the FIR was formally on record.
Second, he argued that the trial court did not properly examine the case diary, which contains the investigating officer’s notes, evidence, and witness statements.
The CBI advocate said, “We are seeking judicial custody. Allegations have surfaced that Giribala’s sister was present during the first post-mortem. Therefore, it is necessary to establish this collusion and determine whether the first post-mortem was influenced.”
The agency said the presence of a family member during the post-mortem raises doubts about procedural integrity and may have affected the initial investigation.
Defending Giribala Singh, advocate Enosh George objected to the CBI’s move to the High Court.
“If they are seeking cancellation of bail based on conduct after the grant of bail, then they should have approached the trial court. Their direct move to the High Court takes away one of my remedies, under which I could have approached the High Court in appeal,” George told the court.
He added that Giribala Singh has cooperated with the probe and denied all allegations of dowry harassment or interference.
Advocate Anurag Shrivastava, representing Twisha’s family, explained why the CBI was impleaded.
“The anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh was challenged on two fronts: firstly, through a petition filed by Twisha’s family, and secondly, through a petition filed by the administration. Since the CBI has now taken over the investigation, a submission was rightly made on behalf of the CBI today, acknowledging that the matter is now under their purview and requesting that their name be formally included in the proceedings,” Shrivastava said.
He added that the CBI’s name has now been added alongside the administration in the petition originally filed by the government, and it has also been added to the petition filed by Twisha’s family.
“After hearing arguments until 5.20 p.m., the court has now reserved its order. We anticipate receiving the order shortly, and we remain hopeful that we will succeed in this matter,” Shrivastava said.
(IANS)
