Probe Todi's role in Rizwanur's death: SC to CBI

However, court strikes down Calcutta HC order to register murder case against Todi

PTI | March 1, 2011



The supreme court on Tuesday set aside a Calcutta high court order for registration of murder case against prominent industrialist Ashok Kumar Todi and some police officers in the mysterious death of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman.

However, the court upheld the earlier orders of the high court for a probe against the accused by the CBI under section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide).

The court also permitted the CBI to proceed against the accused police officers and the other accused in accordance with law.

A bench of Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan termed as "unacceptable" the division bench order of May 18, 2010 for registration of cases under 302 (murder) and 120-B(criminal conspiracy) IPC against the accused.

The apex court passed the judgement on the cross appeals filed by the CBI and the Todis challenging the direction of the high court for registration of murder cases against them despite the agency earlier registering cases under section 306 IPC and other relevant sections.

Rizwanur was found dead near railway tracks in Dumdum area of Kolkata on September 21, 2007, just a month after his marriage to Ashok Todi's daughter Priyanka on August 18, 2007.

Ashok Todi, owner of the Rs 200-crore Lux Cozi hosiery brand, his brother Pradip and brother in-law Anil Sarogi are accused in the case along with senior IPS officers then serving in the Kolkata Police.

The high court had asked the CBI to probe the matter after registering a case of murder in connection with the incident.

A division bench of the high court had ordered fresh investigation after setting aside the CBI investigation earlier ordered by a single bench and directed the agency to complete the probe within four months.

Challenging the high court order, solicitor general Gopal Subramanium, appearing for CBI, had submitted that a fresh probe was not required in the case as the agency had earlier conducted the detailed probe and arrived at the conclusion that an offence was made out for abetement of suicide against Ashok Todi and his relatives.

Todi pleaded he was ready to face the trial on the basis of findings of CBI and there was no need to conduct a fresh investigation in the three-and-half-year-old murder case.

The GRP (government railway police) was first entrusted with the investigations, following which the state government ordered a CID probe.

After this, the state instituted a judicial probe by a retired high court judge, which was withdrawn after the CBI probe was ordered by the Calcutta high court on October 16, 2007.

CBI, in its report, concluded that Rizwanur?s death was a case of suicide and recommended initiation of an abatement to suicide case under Section 306 of the IPC.

Rizwanur's mother alleged the involvement of the then Kolkata Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, DCP (headquarters) Gyanwant Singh and Deputy Commissioner (detective department) Ajay Kumar in intimidating her son and claimed that the state CID probe would not be impartial.

Comments

 

Other News

Distinguishing Fish 1 and Fish 2: The pragmatism behind India’s WTO ratification

 India became the 123rd WTO member to ratify the multilateral Agreement on Fisheries subsidies (AoFS) when it deposited the Instrument of Acceptance for Phase 1 on July 20, 2026. The ratification is restricted to disciplining Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU), protection for overfished

The 7% growth problem: Why the next 7% will be harder

India has become accustomed to hearing the 7% growth number. It is now less a milestone than an expectation. Yet the paradox is becoming clearer: maintaining 7% growth may be considerably harder than achieving it once. India’s real GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025–26, following growth of 6.5% in FY202

The Constitution cannot be altered: Justice Abhay Oka

Justice Abhay Oka, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2025, has said that the Constitution of India cannot be altered. Explaining the landmark Kesavananda Bharati judgment (1973) on the basic structure of the Constitution, he said, “This is one judgment that has saved democracy in India.&rdq

How the flora and fauna evolved in the Indian subcontinent

Mammals of India  By A.J.T. Johnsingh and P.O. Nameer HarperCollins India in association with Bombay Natural History Society  

India`s renewable race is moving beyond megawatts

When Shell bought Sprng Energy in 2022, India`s renewable energy market appeared to offer precisely what global energy majors were seeking: scale, growth and a place in one of the world`s largest energy transitions. Four years later, Shell is selling the same business to Aditya Birla Group for an enterpris

Nepal Floods: India keeps close watch on the situation

India`s central government has been keeping a close watch on the situation arising out of the flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday. Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the two states that share the border with Nepal, regarding the disaster

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter