New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a petition of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar that sought to summon 14 witnesses in the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.
A bench of justices B S Chauhan and Dipak Misra also took strong exception to the Talwars directly challenging the trial court's order before it and asked them to approach the High Court. "We don't intend to touch such matters. It's a wrong procedure to approach the Supreme Court directly," the bench said.
With today's order, the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad can go ahead and record dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar's statements.
The trial court had dismissed their petition for summoning 14 additional witnesses, including ADG (Law and Order) and the then CBI Joint Director Arun Kumar on May 6. It had ordered recording of statements of Rajesh and Nupur, who are the main accused.
The statement of CBI investigating officer AGL Kaul, the last prosecution witness, has already been recorded. In his deposition before the special court, Mr Kaul, who headed the CBI probe, had submitted that the agency's investigation had revealed no evidence of any third person's entry into the Talwar residence.
13-year-old Aarushi was found dead in bed with her throat slit on the morning of May 16, 2008. The police initially suspected a domestic help, Hemraj, who was missing. But hours later, Hemraj's body was found on the Talwars' terrace. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were at home when Aarushi was killed.
Both have spent a few months in jail, Rajesh Talwar immediately after the murder in 2008 and mother Nupur, last year after she surrendered before the Ghaziabad court. Both are out on bail. Trial began in May last year.