Ghaziabad:
The Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad has issued a Non-bailable warrant against Nupr Talwar for not being present in court for the case of her dead daughter Arushi Talwar.
While Mr Talwar was present in court, his wife wasn't. The CBI counsel had asked the court to issue warrant against Mrs Talwar as she was not present in court.
Her counsel in the meanwhile had argued that since her review plea in this case is pending before the Supreme Court till April 27, she should be exempted from appearing. The next date of hearing has been fixed for April 18.
There are now two options. The CBI could now locate, arrest and present Ms Talwar to court or she could present herself to the CBI.
The court began hearing the Aarushi Talwar murder case today. Aarushi's parents, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, are facing arrest, as the CBI appealed during the last hearing that they have destroyed evidence - a charge for which bail can only be granted by the Sessions Court and not by the Magistrate Court, which is currently hearing the matter.
In the last hearing, Mr Talwar had claimed that the Supreme Court has interpreted his bail as a usual bail, whereas the CBI argued that the Supreme Court order was wrongly interpreted by the lower court and his bail should be cancelled. The probe agency also wanted Mr Talwar to be directed to apply for fresh bail and had asked for the judicial custody of Mrs Talwar.
The Talwars are on trial in the four-year-old murder case of their daughter Aarushi, and their domestic help Hemraj. On the last date of hearing, Special Magistrate Priti Singh had extended the bail of Mr Talwar till April 11. Today, the Talwars are likely to appear in a Ghaziabad court.
Today's appearance assumed significance as the Allahabad High Court had last week (April 3) issued a notice to Mr Talwar after the CBI filed an application seeking the cancellation of his bail.
Also, in a setback for Mrs Talwar, the Allahabad High Court on Monday suspended its last month order asking the CBI court in Ghaziabad to "expeditiously" decide any bail application moved by her. The court passed the order on a recall application filed by the CBI. The CBI said Mrs Talwar had secured the order in her favour by submitting "false information" and had sought punitive action against her.
13-year-old Aarushi was found dead in her home in Noida in May 2008. Her parents, Rajesh and Nupur, both dentists, have been accused of her murder. Hours after Aarushi's body was found in her bed by her mother, the Talwars' domestic help, Hemraj, was discovered dead on their roof.
Mr Talwar was arrested a week later by the Noida police, whose investigations provoked ardent criticism. The police officers failed to protect important evidence and made statements about Aarushi and her parents that amounted to character assassination. The CBI took over the case and said Mr Talwar had to be released from prison because there was no evidence against him.
A group of four domestic helpers who worked for the Talwars and their friends were then arrested for Aarushi and Hemraj's murders, but were also released because of lack of evidence.
In December 2010, the CBI asked for permission to close the case and said though it did not have enough evidence against Mr Talwar, it believed he was guilty. The court in Ghaziabad ordered the CBI to continue with its investigation and made Mrs Talwar a co-accused.