Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by 70-year-old Dr Vidya Sagar Banarsi Das Garg, who had alleged continuous harassment by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies in connection with a bank fraud case.
The petition was heard by Justices Anil S Kilor and Rajnish R Vyas. Dr Garg, a senior citizen from Nagpur, claimed that he was wrongly implicated in an FIR registered by the CBI in December 2019 following a complaint by Punjab National Bank, Kolkata. He told the court that he was only a salaried whole time director in Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd and had no role in the day-to-day affairs of the company. He further stated that several agencies, including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED), had earlier given him a clean chit.
The petitioner alleged that despite no evidence against him, his bank accounts and locker were frozen, his pension was affected and he was repeatedly called by investigating officers which caused mental and physical harassment over five years. He also objected to the CBI asking him to travel to Delhi to collect his locker key, even though the locker is located in Nagpur.
After examining the record, the court noted that the CBI’s final report clearly stated that no incriminating evidence was found against Dr Garg. The court also observed that the CBI itself had applied for de-freezing of his accounts and locker, which was allowed by the trial court in July 2025.
However, the High Court held that mere investigation and transfer of the case between agencies cannot be treated as harassment. It said the petitioner was originally named as an accused and investigation had to reach its logical conclusion. The court found no sufficient material to grant compensation or other reliefs sought.
The petition was dismissed, but the court allowed Dr Garg to apply to the CBI for handing over the locker keys at Nagpur. The CBI has been directed to decide such a request within one week.
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