Mumbai Court Rejects Plea to Remove Ujjwal Nikam as SPP in 2012 Tikku Murder Case

A Mumbai Sessions Court has rejected murder-accused Vijay Palande’s plea to remove Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Ujjwal Nikam as Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in his trial for the 2012 murder of businessman Arun Kumar Tikku and other offences.

Palande contended that Nikam’s Rajya Sabha nomination amounted to holding an “office of profit” under Article 102, allegedly disqualifying him and raising concerns of undue influence.

Additional Sessions Judge R.J. Pawar held that Article 102(1)(a) does not bar a person from acting as SPP merely because he holds an office of profit.

Accepting the State’s submission that an SPP is engaged contractually for specific cases, the court, relying on State of Maharashtra v. Prakash Prahlad Patil, dismissed the application.

[State of Maharashtra v. Vijay Bhivajirao Palande]