MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday discontinued the court monitoring of the probe in the 2015 murder of rationalist and author Govind Pansare, stating that it was no longer necessary.

It, however, directed the sessions court in Kolhapur to expedite hearing in the case and conduct it on a daily basis.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata decided to stop the monitoring of the probe, noting that the report submitted by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) indicates that the case has been probed from all angles.

As per the probe agency's report, except the arrest of two absconding accused, nothing further remains to be investigated.

It is thus clear that the only aspect remained to be investigated is tracing of the two absconding accused, the court said.

"According to us, only for the purpose of arrest of the absconding accused, continuous monitoring of the further investigation by this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not necessary," the bench held.

It stated that after the accused persons are arrested, the investigating agency can report it to the trial court.

The court disposed of the plea filed by an accused against the high court's continued monitoring of the case.

Govind Pansare and his wife Uma were shot in Kolhapur city on February 15, 2015, while on a morning walk. He succumbed to his injuries five days later.

The investigation was initially conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), but later transferred to the ATS in 2022.

The high court has been monitoring the probe in the case since 2016 with investigation agencies regularly submitting reports with respect to progress in the probe.

On the point raised by the victim's family about delay in trial, the court noted that it has already commenced and as on December 16, 2024, the prosecution has examined 28 witnesses.

The bench directed the trial court to expedite the hearing of the case and conduct it on a daily basis.