MUMBAI, July 31 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by the Maharashtra government challenging a Bombay High Court order directing the police to register an FIR in the custodial death of 35-year-old Dalit law student Somnath Suryawanshi in Parbhani. While it is still unclear why the Supreme Court dismissed the petition, the state government had contended that the high court's order seeking an FIR against police officers was premature. Suryawanshi was among over 50 people arrested in Parbhani in December 2024 following violence in the city over the desecration of a replica of the Constitution. On December 15, four days after his arrest, Suryawanshi died in judicial custody. While the police initially claimed he died due to a heart attack, a post-mortem report and judicial inquiry revealed that the probable cause of death was "shock following multiple injuries". Suryawanshi's mother, Vijayabai Suryawanshi, approached the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court in April, alleging that police brutality had caused her son's death. She sought an independent, court-monitored investigation. Her petition, filed through advocates Prakash Ambedkar, Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi, sought the registration of an FIR against police officers and their associates responsible for the custodial death. On July 4, the high court ordered the registration of an FIR against the police officers concerned, noting that there was prima facie evidence of custodial torture. The court also ordered that the investigation be handed over to a police officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police. However, the state government moved the Supreme Court on July 10, challenging the order on several grounds. The government argued that the high court had failed to take cognisance of the detailed investigation undertaken by the state Crime Investigation Department (CID). The state government's petition also alleged factual and procedural errors in the judicial inquiry report, including the inclusion of names of police personnel who were not present during the incident. It also cited an expert opinion from Mumbai's JJ Hospital, which concluded that Suryawanshi died due to natural causes exacerbated by a pre-existing condition. Calling the order "premature and unsustainable", the state remarked that the high court's approach was based on a "presumption of guilt against the police authorities," which could demoralise law enforcement institutions....