MUMBAI: Rejecting alleged gangster
Ejaz Lakdawala
’s plea seeking an English translation of a chargesheet in a murder case, a special court has said in its order that Marathi is the official language of the court. The court clarified that there was no provision in law to direct the investigating officer to provide copies of the chargesheet in the language known to the accused.
The court said that Lakdawala could take assistance from the Legal Services Authority in this regard. Lakdawala said that since he
was accustomed
to English, he was unable to read the document writte nin Marathi.
The case dates back to 1996. A murder case was registered against Lakdawala and extradited gangster
Chhota Rajan
. They
absconded
. After Rajan was brought back to India, the CBI took over more than 70 of his cases and submitted supplementary chargesheets. While the older police chargesheet was in Marathi, the CBI submitted its document in English.
The prosecution opposed Lakdawala’s plea, submitting that he had spent a majority of his life in the city and there was nothing to show he did not understand Marathi. It also contended that the application was an attempt to create nuisance.