CBI opposes plea to call Mukesh Ambani witness in 33-year-old murder case

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday opposed a plea by an accused to call RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani as a witness in a 1989 case related to an alleged attempt to murder industrialist Nusli Wadia.

Ivan Sequeira, one of the accused, has moved the special CBI court here seeking to examine Mukesh Ambani as a witness. The central probe agency, in its reply, said the accused had no right to seek further investigation at this stage of the case, and his application should be dismissed.

Kirti Ambani, a former senior executive at Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) who died during the course of the trial, is the prime accused in the case. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Kirti Ambani and others on July 31, 1989, for allegedly conspiring to eliminate Wadia, former chairman of Bombay Dying, due to business rivalry.

The Maharashtra government transferred the probe to the CBI on August 2, 1989, but the trial began only in 2003.