Aarushi case: Parents challenge CBI court in HC

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, the parents of Aarushi, on Monday moved the Allahabad high court challenging a Central Bureau of Investigation court order making them the accused in the murder of their teenaged daughter and domestic help, Hemraj, three years ago.

The petition, filed by the Talwars, has challenged the Ghaziabad court order of February 9 in which the couple has been made the accused on the basis of CBI's closure report and also charged with engaging in criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

According to their counsel Gopal Chaturvedi, the petitioners have submitted that the CBI court had passed its order "without taking into consideration the objections submitted by us". The case is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday, February 23.

Aarushi was found dead inside her Noida residence in May 2008 with her throat slit and the body of Hemraj was recovered later from the terrace. The CBI, which was entrusted with the investigation in the case following an uproar over the alleged shoddy probe by Uttar Pradesh police, had recently submitted its closure report pointing fingers at the parents though it maintained there was no conclusive evidence.

However, the court decided to proceed with the trial against the couple observing that there was "enough evidence" against them.