Allahabad HC Finds Ineptitude On Part Of Investigating Officer; Orders Special Training To Skill Him For Investigations
The Allahabad High Court after finding ineptitude on the part of Investigating Officer (IO) directed to put him under special training to skill him for investigations of offences especially under Section 302 IPC.
The Bench expressed concern over the “disturbing trend of filing chargesheets indiscriminately” especially in the cases of murder, without due diligence in evidence collection, and required the Director General of Police to intervene and issue comprehensive guidelines to rectify these deficiencies.
A Single Bench of Justice Manju Rani Chauhan observed, “While hearing bail applications this Court has experienced that in most of the cases the Investigating Officers discharge their duties perfunctorily as per their own whims sans adhering to the obligations they are assigned with. The offence under Section 302 IPC is converted to Section 306 IPC in a casual manner without collecting material evidence in support. They even do not mention the cause based upon which they reach at the conclusion of converting the offence into different section.”
Advocate Jai Raj represented the applicant, while GA A.K. Sand appeared for the opposite party.
This came under light when the accused, who was initially charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the alleged murder of his wife, was later charged under Section 306 IPC. The Personal affidavit filed by the IO of the case did not explain the reason as to how the offence was converted from Section 302 IPC into Section 306 IPC.
The Bench observed, “Considering the explanation as disclosed in the personal affidavit, this Court finds ineptitude on the part of aforesaid Investigating Officer, thus, directs the Commissioner of Police, Police Commissionerate, Agra to send this officer under some special training to skill him for investigations of offences especially under Section 302 IPC, and till completion of his training he be not entrusted with any investigation.”
The wife’s father had filed an FIR alleging that she was poisoned by her in-laws due to her husband’s illicit relationship and alcoholism. Despite these grave allegations, the postmortem results were inconclusive, and the viscera report was awaited. The initial classification of the case as murder was later altered to abetment of suicide, a decision that lacked material evidence as per the Court.
“The training certificate of the said officer and the guidelines issued by the Director General of Police, U.P., Lucknow, as observed in previous order of this Court, be communicated to the Registrar General of this Court which shall be placed on the record of this case,” the Court directed.
Consequently, the Court granted bail to the accused. The decision was based on the principle of "presumption of innocence until proven guilty" and the lack of evidence linking him to his wife’s death.
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the bail application.
Cause Title: Bhudev v. State Of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC:91769)
Appearance:
Applicant: Advocate Jai Raj
Opposite Party: GA A.K. Sand; AGA D.P. Singh