Practice Of Careless & Sloppy Investigation Must Stop Somewhere: Madhya Pradesh HC Directs DGP To Form Serious Crimes Investigation Supervising Teams
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued directions to the DGP for forming a ‘Serious Crimes Investigation Supervising Team’ in each district of the State.
The Court issued this directive while granting bail to an accused implicated in offences punishable under Sections 302, 34, 450, 397, 398, 114 and 120-B of the IPC. The Bench stated that the Investigating Officer made no efforts to take out the fingerprints from the house where a woman was brutally murdered.
A Single Bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar observed, “It is apparent that there are sheer lapses in the investigation, which are the result of unprofessional and callous approach adopted by the investigating officer, and this not an isolated incident, in fact similar is the situation in most of the serious offences, as the persons responsible for the same do not discharge their duties with due diligence, and by the time it is realized, it is too late in a day to take any corrective measures, leaving this or the other courts only to lament the same through its or their judgments.”
Advocate Abhay Saraswat appeared for the applicant, while GA Virendra Khadav represented the respondent.
The Court stated that the explanation given by the police was not satisfactory “as it is apparent from the memo prepared under Section 27 of the Evidence Act, 1872 by the accused persons that they had searched for the valuables in the house and had also obtained the ornaments from an iron Almira.”
The accused, who had been in jail since 2020, filed his sixth bail application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). He submitted that the DNA report was falsely made up as it was not possible that the accused would keep his pant for six months in his house and in the same condition, to be recovered by the prosecution.
The Bench noted that the police did not take the fingerprints from the scene of crime, where a woman was brutally murdered, since many persons had entered the crime scene.
Therefore, the High Court observed, “Accordingly, without commenting on the merits of the case, the application filed by the applicant is allowed. The applicant is directed to be released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand).”
The Court pointed out serious infirmities in the investigation on earlier occasions in similar situations, where the Court had made adverse comments on the Investigating Officer on account of his failure to send the hair which was recovered from the hands of a deceased victim, and also that of the accused, for DNA profiling, as admittedly, from the hands of the deceased, the Investigating Officer collected certain hair.
Thus, despite the Court having had pointed out the serious lapses that had been committed by the Investigating Officers, “there is no discernible progress in the methods and approach of investigation, and the accused persons are allowed to go scot-free, and it appears that whatever observations made by this Court or the other courts in this regard, are only for the satisfaction of their own conscience. It must be understood that when a criminal trial is doomed right from the beginning, only because of slipshod investigation, it is nothing but a sheer misuse of the process of the court, at the cost of the public exchequer.”
Consequently, the Court directed the Director General of the Police (DGP), M.P., Bhopal, to ensure that in each district of the State, each and every investigation in serious crimes should be supervised by a team.
The Court observed: "In its effort to ensure that this practice of careless and sloppy investigation must stop somewhere, and the investigation is not left to the whims of an investigating officer, it is directed to the Director General of the Police, M.P., Bhopal, to ensure that in each district of the State, each and every investigation in serious crimes be supervised by a team comprising of two member, which shall be headed by a senior level police officer, not below the rank of an experienced IPS officer, and other officer of the Police department, not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police, who may be chosen by the said IPS officer. The said Serious Crimes Investigation Supervising Team shall supervise the investigation, and the Investigating Officer shall also report and apprise the Team about the progress of the investigation for its inputs, to ensure that there are no lapses in the investigation, and the loopholes are plugged at the right time. The said team, together with the investigating officer, shall be held responsible for any lapses in the investigation.."
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the bail application.
Cause Title: Sunit @ Sumit Singh v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh (Neutral Citation: 2024:MPHC-IND:24153)