Bhopal, June 30 (IANS) A Bhopal court on Tuesday declined to entertain an oral submission by the defence seeking permission for retired judge Giribala Singh to visit her residence in connection with a recent burglary, observing that such a request could only be considered through a formal written application.

The submission was made during the hearing in the CBI investigation into the death of actress-model Twisha Sharma.

Appearing through video conferencing, Giribala Singh and her son, advocate Samarth Singh, were produced before the court after the expiry of their previous judicial remand.

During the proceedings, the defence informed the court that a burglary had recently taken place at Giribala Singh’s residence and requested that she be allowed to visit the jurisdictional police station area for identification of the articles allegedly targeted in the incident.

The CBI opposed the plea, submitting that the burglary and the investigation into Twisha Sharma’s death were separate matters and that the issue could not be adjudicated in the present proceedings.

After hearing both sides, the court observed that no order could be passed on an oral request and advised the defence to file a written application if it wished to seek any such relief.

The CBI thereafter sought a further extension of the judicial custody of both accused, stating that the investigation was continuing.

The defence opposed the plea, arguing that the agency had not placed any fresh grounds before the court to justify an extension of judicial remand.

After considering the submissions, the court extended the judicial remand of Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh till July 14.

Counsel for Twisha Sharma’s family, Ankur Pandey, told IANS that CBI also filed two applications before the court.

“One application seeks voice specimens of both accused for comparison with audio recordings collected during the investigation. The second relates to a laptop seized from Samarth Singh. The device has been sent to the CFSL in Delhi, but the data could not be fully retrieved as it is password-protected. The CBI has sought a direction for the accused to provide the password,” he said.

The court has fixed July 3 for hearing on the CBI’s applications seeking voice samples and access to the laptop.

The burglary, reported at Giribala Singh’s residence during the intervening night of June 27 and 28, is being investigated separately by the local police.

–IANS

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