9911796707
TMI Blog2016 (1) TMI 1384X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eventful factual backdrop is outlined by the available pleadings. First the facts as narrated by the appellant. In the bye-elections to the vacant seat of Allahabad (West) State Assembly, held in the month of October 2004, the same having been vacated on the resignation of its incumbent Atiqe Ahmed, respondent No. 4, he having been elected as a Member of Parliament from Phoolpur constituency, Allahabad, the appellant's husband was elected thereto by defeating the nearest contender Mohd. Ashraf set-up by the Samajwadi Party. Whereas the appellant's husband as the candidate of the Bahujan Samaj Party (for short hereinafter referred to as "BSP.") secured 70537 votes against 65713 votes polled by the respondent No. 5, the other candidates representing the Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party fared very poorly in comparison. According to the appellant, since his defeat, Moh. Ashraf @ Khalid Azeem the respondent No. 5, along with his brother Atiqe Ahmed respondent No. 4 as well as the then Chief Minister of the State had taken the set-back to be a matter of personal humiliation, defeat and insult so much so that the respondent No. 4 declared in public that the candidate elected would n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l had lodged a First Information Report with the police in which he had named these respondents has been stated as well. This notwithstanding, buckling under political pressure, the police even deleted the name of respondent No. 5 from the F.I.R. and made a formality of some investigation. 7. The appellant has stated that on the date of the incident i.e. 25.01.2005 at 3 P.M., her husband Raju Pal was travelling in a vehicle accompanied by his two supporters Sandeep Yadav and Devi Lal Pal. His two official gunners instead of accompanying him, and as a part of the conspired plan were travelling in the second car behind his vehicle. The vehicle in which the appellant's husband was travelling along with his friend Singh Sahib and his wife on reaching Amit Deep Maruti Agency, was intercepted and surrounded by eight persons, whereupon the respondent No. 5 Mohd. Ashraf shot him in his head. In course of the shoot-out, Sandeep Yadav, Devi Dayal Pal and the appellant's husband were seriously injured and they eventually succumbed to the injuries. The appellant has alleged that the official gunners, who were travelling in the car behind, not only did not intervene or retaliate to save Ra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the auto to ensure his death. At the Fire Brigade crossing, the assailants again opened fire. Just after reaching the hospital, Pal succumbed to his injuries. Two police gunners of Pal reportedly escaped from the scene. Though the assailants kept on shooting at Pal on the entire stretch between Chaufatka and the nursing home covering four police stations of Dhoomangang, Cantt. Civil Lines and Kotwali, the police failed to react." 11. The appellant has further stated that the body of Raju Pal was thereafter taken into custody by deploying heavy police force and thereafter a show of the post mortem was done hurriedly & secretly at the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital at about 03.15 A.M. in the morning of 25- 26/01/2005 without any information to the appellant or any family member and in total violation of all norms pertaining to autopsy. The appellant has stated that purposefully in order to ensure that the prosecution case is rendered weak, the injuries indicated in the postmortem report were described in a manner to be rendered doubtful to have been caused by the two weapons recovered i.e., one DBBL Gun and one 30 Spring Rifle. The appellant has thus stated that the charge-sheet that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ellant, by way of retaliation to the public outcry against the ruthless and savage assassination of Raju Pal and his two associates, the police authorities went berserk in the entire city and they forcibly trespassed into the houses of such residents, mercilessly assaulted them, including old women and children, ransacked their belongings and threatened and intimidated them of dire consequences if they did not refrain from their agitation for a C.B.I. inquiry. This high handed action of the police force also received media coverage, both print and electronic. The writ petition further discloses that for reasons unfathomable, the investigation of the incident was soon thereafter transferred from Station House Officer, Dhoomanganj to a Police Inspector posted in another police station, in violation of the G.O. No. DG-7-S (253)/198 dated 21.03.2000. 15. While mentioning that with the installation of the Samajwadi Party in power, there was an upsurge in the crimes, the appellant has referred as well to the criminal antecedents of the respondent No. 5, tracing back to the year 1979, when he was accused of murdering a contractor in Bihar. According to her, this respondent has been booke ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rime No. 34/05, Police Station, Dhoomanganj, Allahabad. 27 - That, on 30.01.2005, on the day of arrest of Farhan Ahmed and Ranjeet Pal, the respondent No. 2, Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, S.S.P., Allahabad, told to the petitioner these two accused be kept in curtain (Baparda) do not produce the accused before media, the petitioner denied as the accused persons are local resident and they are publicly known criminals therefore, no meaning to put them in curtain. 28-That, the respondent No. 2, Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, S.S.P., Allahabad, also, told the petitioner, the DBBL Gun recovered from the possession of Farhan Ahmed and Ranjeet Pal also be changed but the petitioner denied and showed the same DBBL Gun in the records which was recovered from their possession. 29 -That, the respondent No. 2, Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, S.S.P., Allahabad, has motive to save the main accused Ashraf and Atiqe Ahmed from the charge of murder of M.L.A, Raju Pal. The respondent No. 2, Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, S.S.P., Allahabad, handled by the political leaders of the ruling Samajwadi party and he was doing in the manner for tempering the evidence of the murder against the main accused Ashraf and Atiqe Ahmed a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ther weapon. But the investigator did not relent and forwarded the recovered pistol and the gun for a forensic test. The tests revealed that two of the six empty cartridges, also found at the scene of crime, had been fired from the recovered DBBL Gun. All along the course of the investigation, some senior police officers had been making efforts to persuade the investigator to shift the focus of his investigation from the named accused Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament Atiqe Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, and bring into focus the personal enmity angle of the slain M.L.A. as the cause behind his murder. The fact that the police officers of the district were working under tremendous political pressure was evident from the way they had been working." 16. On the basis of these foundational facts, the appellant has prayed for an appropriate writ or a direction in the nature of mandamus, directing the official respondents to entrust a fresh investigation into the episode by the C.B.I. 17. As abovestated, the appellant had approached this Court earlier, seeking its intervention for an appropriate direction for investigation of the incident by the CBI. This was, to reiterate, as the app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 007, the High Court being of the view that the relief sought for in the writ petition had been granted by the State Government by making a request to the Central Government to get the case investigated by the CBI, dismissed the writ petition. 21. As the records would reveal, the appellant on the very same date i.e. 11.07.2007 filed an application for restoration of the writ petition, contending principally that though the request had been made by the State Government, a decision in affirmation of the Central Government, agreeing to the investigation of the case being conducted by the CBI was awaited and thus the writ petition ought not to have been dismissed as infructuous. An application was also filed, requesting the High Court to list the writ petition for appropriate orders. As the order sheet of the writ proceedings before the High Court would disclose, the restoration application was kept pending, awaiting the decision of the Central Government on the request of the State Government. The Government of India, Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances and Pension (Department of Personnel and Training) eventually, vide letter No.228/29/2007 - A.V.D Govt. of India......1212/PG ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at liberty to file an application before the Magistrate concerned to that effect so as to enable the trial court to pass appropriate orders thereon. It further held that so far as the adduction of additional evidence was concerned, the appellant would have every opportunity to produce the same or ask therefor also by making an appropriate application at the time of trial. 24. Before adverting to the rival submissions, it would be apt to notice the pleaded stand of the respondents in substance. The state government has admitted the incident in which the appellant's husband had been assassinated on 25.01.2005 along with two others namely Sandeep Yadav and Devi Dayal Pal in a shootout. It has not disputed as well, the registration of the information of the said incident under Sections 148/147/149/302/307 and 120B of the IPC against respondents No. 4,5 and seven others at Dhoomganj Police Station. That on 27.01.2005, the state police had arrested respondent Nos. 4 & 5 in connection of the incident has also been admitted. The state government has placed on record, that the state police on the completion of the investigation in the case has submitted a charge-sheet on 08.04.2005 against ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etly and hastily cremated without handing over the same to his relations and that the postmortem examination was deliberately skewed are palpable falsehood. It also denied the allegation of the appellant that the respondent No. 4 had sophisticated firearms including AK- 47 and AK-56 had been used in the incident. It disclosed as well that at the time of his death, there were several criminal cases registered against Raju Pal including the offence of murder and attempt to murder and that he had many enemies who could have shared the motive to liquidate him. 29. The respondent No. 4 while emphatically denying his involvement as well as the complicity of his brother in the incident, in substance accused the appellant of falsely implicating them as her political rivals and of keeping the proceedings pending so as to derive political mileage therefrom. He alleged as well, that the appellant had deliberately protracted the proceedings inter alia by omitting to take necessary steps so as to use the same to promote her political prospects riding on the sympathy wave induced by the murder of her husband. The answering respondent has averred that thereby the appellant has been successful in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on of the request of the state government to this effect by the Central Government is wholly mechanical and without any application of mind to the factors relevant and germane and thus the decision to that effect is liable to be adjudged illegal, null and void. Not only at the point of time when the Central Government refused to accede to the request for investigation by the CBI, the Writ Petition filed by the Appellant before the High Court had been closed, there is nothing on record to even suggest that any independent endeavour had been made by the Central Government to make a dispassionate evaluation of the overall facts thus rendering its decision arbitrary unfair and unjust. Mr. Sodhi has maintained that not only the manner in which the daring offence was committed was shocking to every right minded person of the society; it signalled as well, an apparent collapse of the administrative machinery of a democracy committed to the solemn promise of guaranteeing protection of life and liberty of its citizens. The learned senior counsel argued that the cruel and barbaric crime having been committed in the broad day light in public view, there are still several eye-witnesses availab ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ting the State not only dismissed emphatically the allegations of tacit involvement of the administration and the police in the design and execution of the offence as alleged in order to eliminate the appellant's husband, he argued as well, that the decision to handover the investigation of the case to the CBI does not only neuter such accusation, but also establish irrefutably the bona fide of the state government. 34. The learned senior counsel pointed out that in absence of any allegation whatsoever of the appellant against the investigation conducted by the CBCID, her persistent requests for transferring the investigation to the CBI is fallacious and unsustainable in law. Mr. Misra has maintained that not only the insistence for the transfer of the investigation to the CBI, in the face of successive probes made by the state police and the CBCID is uncalled for in absence of any deficiency or defect decipherable therein, it is impermissible as well, at this belated stage. Mr. Misra has argued that even otherwise such a transfer of investigation even if allowed, it would be fatal for the prosecution as at this distant point of time not only the witnesses would be unavailable and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Modi and others (1998) 8 SCC 661, Common Cause, A Registered Society vs. Unon of India and others (1999)6SCC Secretary, Minor Irrigation & Rural Engineering Services, U.P. and Others vs. Sahngoo Ram Arya and Anr. (2002)5 SCC 521 State of West Bengal and Ors. vs. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, West Bengal and Ors. (supra) Disha vs. State of Gujarat & Ors. (2011)13 SCC 337 K.V. Rajendran vs. Superintendent of Police, CBCID South Zone, Chennai and Ors. (2013) 12 SCC 480 Hussainara Khatoon & others vs. Home Secretary, State of Bihar (1980)1 SCC Abdul Rehman Antulay and others vs. R.S. Nayak and another (1992)1SCC 225 P. Ramachandra Rao vs. State of Karnataka (2002)4SCC 578 Vakil Prasad Singh vs. State of Bihar (2009)3SCC 355 Kashmeri Devi vs. Delhi Administration and another 1988 (Suppl.) SCC 482 Gudalure M.J. Cherian and others vs. Union of India and others (1992) 1 SCC Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Chandigarh through its Secretary vs. State of Punjab and others (1994)1SCC 616 Inder Singh vs. State of Punjab and others (1994)6SCC 275 Rubabbuddin Sheikh vs. State of Gujarat and others (2010) 2 SCC 200 36. Ms. Mohana representing the Union of India endo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tment of the investigation of the case to the CBI as the state police, as perceived by them, was found to be patently partisan in their initiatives and approach in connection therewith. The allegations by the appellant about laconical autopsy of the dead body without any notice to her or any other family member of the deceased, refusal to return the dead body to them and hasty and secret cremation thereof to remove the otherwise tell tale clues to identify the assassins have been candidly made. As these imputations have been denied by the respondents in their pleadings, we refrain from further dilating thereon. Similarly, both sides have also alleged registration and pendency of criminal cases against the appellant's husband, respondents No. 4 and 5 involving offences amongst others of murder, attempt to murder etc. 38. Noticeably, however, the appellant since after the murder of her husband had been persistently appealing for investigation by any impartial agency i.e. CBI, expressing without reservation, her doubts about the genuineness and bona fide of the probe being conducted by the state police. She has even alleged the involvement of the state administration and the police i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the submission of the charge-sheet by the state police on 8.4.2005. During the pendency of the writ petition before the High Court and consequent upon the refusal by the Central Government to refer the investigation to the CBI, the state government entrusted the exercise to CBCID, which on completion of the drill submitted three charge-sheets on 10.1.2009, 4.4.2009 and 24.12.2009. A conjoint reading of the charge-sheets submitted by the two investigating agencies would thus reveal that along with respondent Nos. 4 and 5, several other persons have been arraigned as accused adding to the list of those challenged by the state police. Further, CBCID has also added to the list of witnesses in its charge-sheets. Corresponding to these final reports submitted by the investigating agencies, Sessions Trial Case Nos. 13/2006, 14/2006, 15/2006 and 24/2006 are pending for analogous trial, the proceedings whereof being presently stayed pursuant to the order dated 3.5.2006 of this Court in W.P. (Crl.) Nos. 118-119 of 2005 and thereafter the order dated 13.2.2015 passed in the present appeal. 42. In the course of the arguments, attention of this Court has been drawn to the additional documents ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce and CBCID, following which four charge-sheets have been submitted arraigning respondent Nos. 4 and 5 and others as accused with the supporting material gathered in course of the probe to prove the charge levelled against them. It is noticeable as well that the appellant as well has not highlighted any defect, omission or deficiency in the investigation conducted by the CBCID, likely to adversely impact upon the outcome of the trial therefor. 45. These notwithstanding, it would still be, in our opinion, imperative to examine as to whether for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, the relief of entrustment of the investigation of the case again to the CBI is grantable or not on its own merits. This is chiefly, in view of the intrepid, audacious and fiendish intrusion of human right by the assassins in broad day light at a public place, by defiantly violating all canons of law and making a mockery of the administrative regime entrusted with the responsibility to maintain an orderly society. The terrorising impact of this incident and the barbaric manner of execution of the offence is also a factor which impels this Court to und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the principles of a fair trial permeate the common law in both civil and criminal contexts, this Court underscored the necessity of a delicate judicial balancing of the competing interests in a criminal trial - the interests of the accused and the public and to a great extent that too of the victim, at the same time not losing the sight of public interest involved in the prosecution of persons who commit offences. 50. It was propounded that in a criminal case, the fate of the proceedings cannot always be left entirely in the hands of the parties, crimes being public wrongs in breach and violation of public rights and duties, which affect the whole community and are harmful to the society in general. That the concept of fair trial entails the triangulation of the interest of the accused, the victim, society and that the community acts through the state and the prosecuting agency was authoritatively stated. This Court observed that the interests of the society are not to be treated completely with disdain and as persona non grata. It was remarked as well that due administration of justice is always viewed as a continuous process, not confined to the determination of a particular ca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ented by their prosecuting agencies do not suffer even in slot process but irreversibly and irretrievably, which if allowed would undermine and destroy public confidence in the administration of justice, which may ultimately pave way for anarchy, oppression and injustice resulting in complete breakdown and collapse of the edifice of rule of law, enshrined and jealously guarded and protected by the Constitution. There comes the need for protecting the witness. Time has come when serious and undiluted thoughts are to be bestowed for protecting witnesses so that ultimate truth is presented before the court and justice triumphs and that the trial is not reduced to a mockery. The State has a definite role to play in protecting the witnesses, to start with at least in sensitive cases involving those in power, who have political patronage and could wield muscle and money power, to avert the trial getting tainted and derailed and truth becoming a causality. As a protector of its citizens it has to ensure that during a trial in court the witness could safely depose the truth without any fear of being haunted by those against whom he has deposed." 52. It was underlined that if ultimately th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s to be circumspect in evaluating the evidence and may have to adopt an active and analytical role to ensure that truth is found by having recourse to Section 311 of the Code or at a later stage also resorting to Section 391 instead of throwing hands in the air in despair. It recalled as well its observations in Ram Bihari Yadav v. State of Bihar & others, (1998) 4 SCC 517 that the courts are installed for justice oriented mission and thus if a negligent investigation or omissions or lapses due to perfunctory investigation are not effectively rectified, the faith and confidence of the people would be shaken in the law enforcing agency and also in the institution devised for administration of justice. 55. Though, as referred to hereinabove, trial was completed and the accused persons were acquitted, in the textual facts, this Court did direct retrial as prayed for, to avoid subversion of the justice delivery system and ordered the investigating agency or those supervising the investigation to act in terms of Section 173(8) of the Code as the circumstances would so warrant. 56. The observations and the propositions, though made in the backdrop of a request for retrial, those pertai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... annot and will not by themselves be treated by any court as a bar to further continuance of the trial or proceedings or to terminate the same and acquit or discharge the accused, was emphatically underlined. Reference too was made of the decision in Zahira Habibulla H. Sheikh (supra). 58. Vis-à-vis the notions of 'speedy trial' and 'fair trial' as the integral constituents of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it was observed that there was a qualitative difference between the right to speedy trial and the right of the accused to fair trial. While pointing out that unlike the accused's right of fair trial, the deprivation of the right to speedy trial does not per se prejudice the accused in defending himself, it was proclaimed that mere lapse of several years since the commencement of prosecution by itself, would not justify the discontinuance of prosecution or dismissal of the indictment. It was stated in no uncertain terms, that the factors concerning the accused's right to speedy trial have to be counterpoised with the impact of the crime on the society and the confidence of the people in the judicial system. It was noted that speedy trial secures rights to an accu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the constitutional courts and thus cannot be taken away or curtailed or diluted thereby. While proclaiming the supervening powers of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to direct, entrustment of the investigation to the CBI as in the case involved, this Court sounded a caveat as well that the very plentitude of such power inheres a great caution in its exercise and though no inflexible guidelines can be laid down in that regard, the same has to be invoked sparingly, cautiously and in exceptional situation when it becomes necessary to provide credibility and to instill confidence in the investigation or where the incident may have national and international ramifications or where such an order may be necessary for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundamental rights. (emphasis supplied) 61. The facts in Bharati Tamang (supra) seeking de novo investigation, present somewhat an identical fact situation. The appellant's husband, President of a political party was brutally murdered in public view and in the presence of police and security personnel by the supporters of the rival party. The investigation into the sordid incident had been completed. Alleg ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he case beyond the territorial limits of the district involved and directed that the probe be carried out by the CBI to be monitored by its Joint Director as named. It was ordered that the CBI would ensure that all required evidence is gathered by leaving no stone unturned, so that all accused involved in the offence are brought for trial to be dealt with in accordance with law. The trial that had meanwhile commenced was kept in abeyance pending conclusion of the further investigation by the CBI and the submission of report before the transferred court as ordered. Not only in issuing these directions this Court revisited the imperatives bearing on the duty of the Court to ensure that criminal prosecution is carried out effectively and the perpetrators of the crime are duly punished by the appropriate court of law, it noticed as well some of the factual features of the case namely; The deceased at his death was the President of a political party. There was a deep rooted rivalry between his party and another party. The deceased had organized a meeting of his party on the date of the incident. Police personnel were present at the place of the occurrence. Though present, no rep ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fresh investigation. 65. In Rubabbuddin Sheikh (supra) as well, though as many as eight action reports had been submitted by the state police on the incident of reported murder of the brother of the petitioner in a fake encounter and the disappearance of his sister-in-law in which, amongst other, allegedly the anti-terrorist squad of the state police was involved, a proceeding was initiated on the basis of a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India seeking a direction for investigation by the CBI. In view of the rival contentions advanced as to the permissibility or otherwise of the transfer of the investigation as prayed for, this Court on an in-depth audit of the decisions rendered by it, did negate the plea that subsequent to the submission of a charge sheet, the court is not empowered in any case whatsoever to handover the investigation to an independent agency like CBI. It was held, having regard to the parameters outlined by the two sets of authorities on the issue, that such a course however would be permissible in an appropriate case where the facts bearing thereon would demonstrate lack of proper investigation and vitiations thereof by factual discrepancies endorsi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... may not be able to conduct the investigation fairly or impartially, the court may reasonably consider to supplement the procedure. 67. While recalling its observation in State of Bihar and another vs. JAC Saldanha and others (1980) 1 SCC 554, that on a cognizance of the offence being taken by the court, the police function of investigation comes to an end subject to the provision contained in Section 173(8) of the Code and that the adjudicatory function of the judiciary commences, thus delineating the well demarcated functions of crime detection and adjudication, this Court did recognize a residuary jurisdiction to give directions to the investigating agency, if satisfied that the requirements of law were not being complied with and that the investigation was not being conducted properly or with due haste and promptitude. It was reiterated in Babubhai (supra) that in exceptional circumstances, the court in order to prevent the miscarriage of criminal justice, may direct investigation de novo, if it is satisfied that non-interference would ultimately result in failure of justice. In such an eventuality endorsement of the investigation to an independent agency to make a fresh probe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Court did take note of the fact that the nuns who had been the victim of the tragedy did not come forward to identify the culprits and that as alleged by the petitioners, the four persons set up by the police as accused were not the real culprits and that the victims were being asked to accept them to be so. The paramount consideration for the direction issued was to secure justice between the parties and to instill confidence in public mind. The same imperative did impel this Court to issue a similar direction for fresh investigation by the CBI in Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association (supra). Here as well the investigation otherwise had been completed and charge-sheet was submitted. 71. This Court dealing with the proposition that once a charge sheet is filed, it would then be exclusively in the domain of the competent court to deal with the case on merits in accordance with law and that the monitoring of the investigation would cease in all respects, held, in particular, in K.V. Rajendran (supra) in reiteration of the enunciations aforestated, that though it is ordinarily so, the power of transferring investigation in rare and exceptional cases for the purpose of doin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alienable constituents of an adjudicative process, to culminate in a judicial decision by a court of law as the final arbiter. There is indeed a qualitative difference between right to speedy trial and fair trial so much so that denial of the former by itself would not be prejudicial to the accused, when pitted against the imperative of fair trial. As fundamentally, justice not only has to be done but also must appear to have been done, the residuary jurisdiction of a court to direct further investigation or reinvestigation by any impartial agency, probe by the state police notwithstanding, has to be essentially invoked if the statutory agency already in-charge of the investigation appears to have been ineffective or is presumed or inferred to be not being able to discharge its functions fairly, meaningfully and fructuously. As the cause of justice has to reign supreme, a court of law cannot reduce itself to be a resigned and a helpless spectator and with the foreseen consequences apparently unjust, in the face of a faulty investigation, meekly complete the formalities to record a foregone conclusion. Justice then would become a casualty. Though a court's satisfaction of want of p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ution of India. Though, well demarcated contours of crime detection and adjudication do exist, if the investigation is neither effective nor purposeful nor objective nor fair, it would be the solemn obligation of the courts, if considered necessary, to order further investigation or reinvestigation as the case may be, to discover the truth so as to prevent miscarriage of the justice. No inflexible guidelines or hard and fast rules as such can be prescribed by way of uniform and universal invocation and the decision is to be conditioned to the attendant facts and circumstances, motivated dominantly by the predication of advancement of the cause of justice. 80. Any criminal offence is one against the society at large casting an onerous responsibility on the state, as the guardian and purveyor of human rights and protector of law to discharge its sacrosanct role responsibly and committedly, always accountable to the law abiding citizenry for any lapse. The power of the constitutional courts to direct further investigation or reinvestigation is a dynamic component of its jurisdiction to exercise judicial review, a basic feature of the Constitution and though has to be exercised with d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l system had been created only to discern and find out the real truth and that the Judges at all levels have to seriously engage themselves in the journey of discovering the same. Emphasizing that the quest for truth is the mandate of law and indeed the bounden duty of the courts, it was observed that the justice system will acquire credibility only when the people will be convinced that justice is based on the foundation of the truth. While referring with approval, the revealing observation made in Ritesh Tewari and another vs. State of U.P. and others (2010)10SCC 677 that every trial is voyage of discovery in which truth is the quest, the following passage of Lord Denning scripted in Jones vs. National Coal Board (1957) 2 All ER 155(CA) was extracted in affirmation: "...It's all very well to paint justice blind, but she does better without a bandage round her eyes. She should be blind indeed to favour or prejudice, but clear to see which way lies the truth." 86. A strain of piognance and disquiet over the insensitive approach of the court concerned in the textual facts in the context of fair trial in the following observations of this Court in Vinod Kumar vs. State of Punjab ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ose of a criminal investigation and its efficacious prospects with the advent of scientific and technical advancements have been candidly synopsized in the prefatory chapter dealing with the history of criminal investigation in the treatise on Criminal Investigation - Basic Perspectives by Paul B. Weston and Renneth M. Wells: "Criminal investigation is a lawful search for people and things useful in reconstructing the circumstances of an illegal act or omission and the mental state accompanying it. It is probing from the known to the unknown, backward in time, and its goal is to determine truth as far as it can be discovered in any post-factum inquiry. Successful investigations are based on fidelity, accuracy, and sincerity in lawfully searching for the true facts of an event under investigation and on an equal faithfulness, exactness, and probity in reporting the results of an investigation. Modern investigators are persons who stick to the truth and are absolutely clear about the time and place of an event and the measurable aspects of evidence. They work throughout their investigation fully recognizing that even a minor contradiction or error may destroy confidence in their ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... suspension had also pleaded on oath about the unexpected and unwarranted interference of the higher ups in the department to withhold evidence gathered in course of the investigation underway. Though nothing decisively turn on these accusations, the same having been refuted by the respondents, the fact remains that the appellant's husband had been mercilessly killed by a group of gun wielding assailants in a public place, in the open view of all concerned. Such a daring and desperate act did have a terrorizing impact on the society sending shock waves amongst all cross sections of the community and received wide coverage by the media. The incident understandably is not one to be lightly glossed over or trivialized. 92. The trial on the basis of the investigation completed hitherto by the state police and the CBCID has remained stayed by the orders of this Court. Prior thereto however as per the materials laid before this Court, several eye-witnesses cited by the investigating agency have been examined. As the trial is pending for the present, we refrain from commenting on their testimony, except that they seem to have resiled from their statements under Section 161 of the Code. Ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... trial casually drift towards its conclusion with the possibility of offence going unpunished or to embark upon investigation belated though, spurred by the intervening developments, to unravel the truth, irrespective of the persons involved. As it is, every offence is a crime against the society and is unpardonable, yet there are some species of ghastly, revolting and villainous violations of the invaluable right to life which leave all sensible and right minded persons of the society shell shocked and traumatized in body and soul. Such incidents mercifully rare though are indeed exceptionally agonizing, eliciting resentful condemnation of all and thus warrant an extra-ordinary attention for adequate remedial initiatives to prevent their recurrence. In our considered view, even if such incidents otherwise diabolical and horrendous do not precipitate, national or international ramifications, these undoubtedly transcend beyond the confines of individual tragedies and militatively impact upon the society's civilized existence. If the cause of complete justice and protection of human rights are the situational demands in such contingencies, order for further investigation or reinvestig ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
