Court dismisses kin’s petition to exhume body

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by a man alleging that his brother’s widow and her two children conspired to murder his brother to usurp property. Instead, the court concluded that the petitioner was the villain.
The property, which includes a bungalow, Harbour, on Mount Carmel Road, is valued at over Rs 10 crore.A division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice R G Ketkar, in their verdict, said, “We are of the opinion that the writ petition is not a bona fide petition but is completely motivated. In all probability, the petitioner is acting under instructions of persons who wish to redevelop the valued property, Harbour.”
Bertram Dsilva (52), a resident of Jharkhand, filed a habeas corpus petition in January 2011 for the production of his brother, Irwin (60), claiming that Irwin may have been murdered and if so, his body must be exhumed. He said Irwin was “induced” in 1996 into remarrying Suman (now 65), who has two children, Simmi and Faruk, from a previous marriage.
In December 2010, he lodged complaints with the Bandra police, stating that his brother was being wrongfully confined by Suman. In January 2011, he moved the HC, alleging that the police was conniving with Suman. The police told the court that Irwin was admitted to Nair Hospital for a kidney ailment and died on December 22, 2010 in Sion hospital. He was cremated the same day. Bertram alleged that his brother was cremated instead of being buried to destroy evidence.
Suman said she and her children were living with Irwin since 1996 after they got married. Irwin was in good health until he suffered chronic renal failure in 2009, she said. He died and was cremated in accordance with his wishes, she added. She alleged that Bertram and his friends, Robert Sequiera and Dirk Allams, were hell-bent on misappropriating the property.
The judges relied on the notarized declaration written by Irwin on December 16, 2010, saying it “speaks volumes and belies the entire case” of Bertram. Irwin stated that Bertram and his friends threatened him when he was in Nair Hospital on December 14. The judges said the ‘incident’ indicates that the attempt was to get rid of Suman and her children by implicating them in false cases. They noted that Bertram visited Mumbai for the first time on December 11, 2010. “There is no justification as to why the petitioner has become conscious and emotional about the well-being of his brother,” said the judges.