TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2010 (8) TMI 1162
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.... under Section 482 before the High Court, was asked to give a proposal of three names of the police officers of the DGP rank for examining the records of the completed investigation, wherein even the charge sheet was already filed. Similar choice seems to have been given even to the counsel for the appellant/informant to suggest some names. The appellant/informant (respondent before the High Court) did not choose to give any name, with the result that the High Court went on to select one Mr. Manoj Nath, an IPS of 1973 Batch for assistance in the matter. The High Court observed: This Court requests Mr. Manoj Nath to examine all the records of the case in detail and submit his report to this Court preferably within a period of one month with his clear opinion as to (i) whether investigation of the case is complete from all angles and case is fit to be tried on the basis of materials and report placed on record by the Investigating Officer only or (ii) whether there are some loopholes and lacunae in the investigation which necessitates further or fresh investigation of the case and if necessary by a more experienced and specialized agency, and/or (iii) what further steps, if ....
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....ta and informed her that she was with the accused and would come back after getting married with him. On the very next day i.e. on 1.12.2007, at 7.15 a.m., the family members of the deceased were informed by the Railway Police that the dead body of the girl is lying on the side of the Railway track at Karisath Railway Station and her Mobile set bearing No. 9304915589 was also lying there. The complainant's brother Dr. Sanjeev reached the Railway Station and identified the body of the deceased. The deceased had injuries on her head and a portion of her leg was cut. Inquest Panchnama was executed by the Railway Police and the dead body was sent for postmortem. At this time, the complainant/father of the deceased was out of station. After he returned home, he was informed about the deceased having been taken by the respondent No. 1/accused at night on 30.11.2007. On 6.12.2007, a written complaint was filed. It was disclosed in the said complaint that the deceased was in love with Rajesh Bhardwaj, (respondent No. 1/accused) and wanted to get married with him and was persuading him for the last six months for marriage; However, the accused wanted to get rid of her, as he was having ....
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....as been rejected up to the Hon'ble Apex Court. 4. On 15.5.2009, another petition being Crl. WJC No. 394 of 2009 came to be filed before the High Court by the mother of the accused. On that date, the investigation was in progress, but the final report had not been submitted by the police. It was expressed in this petition that the investigation was being influenced from the complainant's side and there was a prayer for direction to the State Government to get the case investigated by an independent investigating agency such as Central Bureau of Investigation. On 18.6.2009, police came to the conclusion that the offences alleged against the accused were committed by him and, therefore, the charge sheet came to be filed for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 and 120B 5. Needless to mention that the respondent No. 1/accused was still not arrested nor did he ever bother to appear before the Magistrate. 6. On 25.6.2009, after the charge sheet was filed, the father of the accused moved an application before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Arrah, saying that he did not have faith in the said Court and wanted to move a petition for transfer of this case before....
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.... by the High Court where he was wrongly described as Rakesh Bhardwaj instead of Rajesh Bhardwaj. It was also submitted that the charge sheet was filed under Sections 302, 201 and 120B IPC and not under Section 306 IPC as was represented to the High Court. The matter then pended for another four months and came for hearing only on 4.5.2010. However, by that time, Dr. Vijay Laxmi, the mother of the respondent No. 1/accused had already expired. After her death, the respondent No. 1/accused was substituted in her place. It was during the course of arguments on Misc. Application No. 41823 of 2009 that the subject of the investigation not being properly done, cropped up, and it was urged that the matter should be re-investigated, though it was informed to the Court that the charge sheet was already filed about eight months prior to this date and the matter was also committed to the Court of Sessions for trial. The High Court ultimately passed the impugned order. The case was then fixed for hearing before the High Court on 21.6.2010 as the first case in the list. However, the trial has been stayed and the High Court has gone to the extent of selecting a new investigating officer. 7. Sh....
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....here is a total absence of reasons in the impugned order of the High Court whereby the High Court has directed the change of investigating agency. The learned Senior Counsel pointed out that nothing has been shown either from the charge sheet which is already filed against the accused or from any other circumstance which justified the change of the investigating agency. 11. A glance at the impugned order suggests that the criticism is quite justified. The Learned Single Judge referred to the report of the Superintendent of Police dated 27.3.2008 wherein it was allegedly found that the investigation was not properly done and it required to be further investigated by the investigating officer from the angles reported in the supervision report. A letter dated 29.4.2008 by the IG of Police to the Additional DG is also referred to wherein it was suggested that the father of the deceased had raised objections to the supervision report of the SP, Railways. Lastly, the Learned Judge has referred to the supervision report of the Dy. SP,CID dated 04.06.2008 wherein it was allegedly mentioned that the investigation was lacking on some counts and this was probably on account of the fact tha....
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....estions raised by the informant/ complainant. It was suggested by the appellant/complainant that there was another supervision report of the SP dated 30.4.2009 which supported the filing of the charge sheet and it was in pursuance of that report that the charge sheet came to be filed. The complainant had also urged that the so- called earlier supervision report dated 27.3.2008 was a concocted document. The learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant/complainant challenged the genuineness of the document and contended that it was fabricated. The complainant went to the extent of saying that the father of the accused who was a Senior Advocate of the Court was trying to influence the investigation and in fact even the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory regarding the handwriting and the genuineness of the letter of the deceased was not genuine. Ultimately, it was urged before the High Court that at the stage, particularly, after the charge sheet was already filed, the High Court would not be justified in interfering under Section 482, Cr.P.C. The only reason that we find for the unusual course that the High Court has taken is that there was no supervision report ....
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....nder Section 173(8), Cr.P.C. The High Court has not even looked into the charge sheet nor has it examined the same. 16. It is also extremely surprising that the respondent No. 1/accused should have moved the High Court instead of moving the Sessions Judge before whom the matter was pending after all cognizance was taken by the Magistrate on the basis of the charge sheet. Thereafter he also proceeded to commit the matter for trial by the Sessions Judge and the matter was pending before the Sessions Judge. Under such circumstance, we completely fail to understand the propriety of the accused moving the High Court, firstly through his mother and secondly himself, more particularly, under Section 482, Cr.P.C. instead of going before Sessions Judge where the prosecution was pending and claiming further investigation under Section 173(8) Cr.P.C. 17. The High Court has not even considered the question of its own jurisdiction in the matter by conveniently observing that it is a matter which is to be considered at the stage of final hearing of the case. Therefore, it is clear that the High Court has not applied its mind also and had pushed the matter up to 21.6.2010 for receiving the ....
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....t the position here. This is apart from the fact that factually we do not see any reason why the extreme step is required to be taken in this case even after the charge sheet has been filed. 20. This Court had taken that unusual course in Rubabbuddin Sheikh's case (cited supra), in the words of the Court: in the facts and circumstances of the present case and to do complete justice in the matter and to instill confidence in the public mind. Before this course was undertaken, the Court had found out factual discrepancies apparent on the face in the eight Action Taken Reports and the charge sheet. It was also noted that the crime was committed by the police personnel themselves while investigation conducted was not at all satisfactory. We do not find any such circumstance in the present case. We may also refer to the observations made in another ruling reported as Mithabhai Pashabhai Patel and Anr. v. State of Gujarat 2009 (6) SCC 332. In paragraph 13 of the said decision, this Court has observed: it is beyond any cavil that `further investigation' and `reinvestigation' stand on different footing. It may be that in a given situation a superior Cour....