Point of law: Article 21 of Constitution not only takes within its fold, the enforcement of the rights of the accused but also the rights of the deceased.

ORDER :

The petitioner is before this Court calling in question order dated 07-01-2023 passed by the Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, FTSC-I, Bengaluru in Special C.C. No.2261 of 2022 rejecting the application filed by the petitioner under Section 173(8) of the CrPC and seeks a direction for conduct of further investigation of the crime.

2. The facts adumbrated are as follows:-

The petitioner is the wife of one Abhinav Lal, accused in Special C.C. No.2261 of 2022. Accused and the petitioner are husband and wife. The crime comes to be registered by the de-facto complainant against the petitioner on 24-08-2022 bringing out certain grave allegations. It is the case of the complainant that the accused/husband being sexually perverted was addicted to watch pornography involving children – ‘father daughter and mother-son’. It is the allegation that in the month of September – October 2020 he would make his four year old daughter stand naked and he would himself stand naked and bath by touching private parts of the minor child. It is the allegation that the accused used to insist the petitioner for sexual intercourse in the presence of the minor child and when the petitioner opposes, she would be hurled with blows or abuses between 23-02-2022 and 27-02-2022. It is alleged that the accused takes the minor daughter to Mangalore for a trip and again does the same acts there that he was indulging in the house and appears to have clicked some pictures of the minor child.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that after return from the trip, the child started behaving differently like the child starts to stare at the private parts of others including the petitioner and would insist that the petitioner takes photos of her when she was bathing. It is averred that it is on the practice developed by the father/ accused. It appears, the accused gets access to iPad which the minor daughter was using for her entertainment and used to load child displaying pornography into it and compelled her to watch them. It is on these allegations, the wife registers the crime on 24-08-2022 for offences punishable under Sections 8, 10 & 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‘the Act’ for short). The Police after investigation filed charge sheet and the matter stood adjourned to a stage of hearing before charge.

4. The charge sheet was laid before the concerned Court on 22-10-2022 and the concerned Court takes cognizance of the offence based upon the charge sheet and issued summons. On 12-12-2022 the petitioner makes an application before the concerned Court under Section 173(8) of the Cr.P.C., seeking a direction to the respondent/Police – Investigating Officer for further investigation. The learned Sessions Judge dismisses the application seeking further investigation. It is the dismissal of the said application filed by the petitioner is what drives the petitioner to this Court in the subject writ petition.

5. Heard Sri Sandesh J. Chouta, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. K.P. Yashodha, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for the respondent.

6. The learned senior counsel would take this Court through the contents of the charge sheet to demonstrate the lacunae in investigation. To buttress his submission that it is a shoddy investigation conducted by the Investigating Officer, he has quoted several instances which ought to have been part of the charge sheet but are deliberately missing and, therefore, the case requires further investigation. Though the pleading is only with regard to further investigation, the learned senior counsel emphasizes on the fact that it should be by a different Investigating Officer.

7. On the other hand, the learned High Court Government Pleader would, though seek to support the investigation conducted and the charge sheet so filed by the Police before the concerned Court, submit that if this Court would direct further investigation, the same would be carried out in a