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CBI Probe Ordered in NDPS Case Over Police Custodial Doubts
In a significant order addressing the integrity of , the of Punjab and Haryana has directed the to take over the probe in an NDPS case involving allegations of . Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi, presiding over the matter, underscored that when grave suspicions of arise, especially in cases carrying a minimum 10-year sentence, an is vital to ensure justice.
A Timeline of Contradictions The case originated from an registered on , at Police Station Adampur, accusing Lovkesh Kumar of possessing 900 intoxicating tablets under . While the prosecution claimed the suspect was apprehended late on the night of August 11, the petitioner—the accused's wife, Kusum Rani—presented CCTV evidence suggesting Kumar was abducted by police hours earlier, at 5:38 a.m. on August 11.
The official police narrative posited that Kumar had been interrogated and subsequently released to an acquaintance, Ramesh Kumar, at 11:00 a.m. on the day of the alleged abduction. However, when questioned, the designated acquaintance explicitly refuted this, stating he had only visited the police station on August 12 to provide food and was asked to sign papers under the guise of visitation formalities.
Legal Arguments and Judicial Scrutiny Counsel for the petitioners argued that the police records were "fabricated" to create a cover story for the . Relying on landmark precedents such as and , the petitioners contended that the maintains to transfer probes to an independent agency to secure the ends of justice, even after a police report has been filed.
Opposing the plea, the State relied on internal reports, which acknowledged "" in how custody was handled but maintained that the recovery of narcotics was genuine and independent of the detention timeline. The Court, however, found these conclusions insufficient to dispel the "somewhat doubtful" nature of the prosecution’s case.
Key Observations Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi’s observations highlighted the gravity of the potential :
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"Where any person appears to have been falsely nominated as an accused by the police in a case where the minimum sentence is 10 years then, for a fair and impartial investigation to take place it is imperative that the investigation should be handed over to an independent agency for the unvarnished truth to surface."
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"The explanation given by the investigating agency that Lovkesh Kumar had been released at 11:00 a.m. on to one Ramesh Kumar and thereafter, arrested at night, has itself been found to be in violation of settled procedure."
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"The findings of various police officers... which, while holding that the release of Lovkesh Kumar to Ramesh Kumar amounted to a procedural violation, but the investigation itself was conducted in a fair and impartial manner cannot be accepted at its face value."
The Road Ahead The has quashed the order framing charges against the accused, citing the need for a look at the evidence. The CBI has been granted three months to conduct a further investigation and file a supplementary report under (or ). The is directed to take both reports into consideration, applying the principles set forth in , to determine whether the accused should be or proceeded against, thereby ensuring that the "unvarnished truth" regarding the investigation’s integrity is finally brought to light.
