Back
2017 Supreme(Cal) 127
IN THE HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
Joymalya Bagchi, J.
Arkadeb Mukherjee - Appellant
Vs.
The State of West Bengal and Ors. - Respondents
W.P. 24365(W) of 2014
Decided On : 17-03-2017
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Uday Sankar Chattopadhyay, Suman Sankar Chatterjee, Sanatan Maji, Snigdha Saha, Souvik Dutta
For the Respondents: Md. T.M. Sidique, Prithwish Kumar Basu
In exceptional cases, a transfer of investigation to CBI may be necessary to ensure a credible discovery of truth and uphold the rule of law, especially when the state investigating agencies fail to instill confidence in witnesses and protect their safety.
Headnote:
Investigation - CBI - State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, (2010) 3 SCC 571; Mithilesh Kumar Singh v. State of Rajasthan, (2015) 9 SCC 795; Dharam Pal v. State of Haryana, (2016) 4 SCC 160; Pooja Pal v. U.O.I., (2016) 3 SCC 135
Fact of the Case:
The son of a deceased victim filed a writ petition seeking transfer of investigation to CBI due to the failure of state investigating agencies to solve the murder case of his father, a well-known individual involved in politics and social activities. The petitioner alleged a deep-rooted political conspiracy and lack of effort by the investigating agencies to interrogate witnesses and explore the motive of the crime.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the state investigating agencies had failed to unravel the crime and bring the offenders to book, leading to a loss of confidence in the administration of criminal justice. It emphasized the importance of instilling confidence in witnesses and the need for witness protection measures. The court concluded that a transfer of investigation to CBI was necessary to ensure a credible discovery of truth and uphold the rule of law.
Issues: Failure of state investigating agencies, lack of effort in interrogating witnesses, failure to explore the motive of the crime, loss of confidence in the administration of criminal justice.
Ratio Decidendi: In rare and exceptional cases, a transfer of investigation to CBI may be necessary to provide credibility or confidence in investigations, especially in cases with national or international ramifications. The court may direct reinvestigation or further investigation to instill faith in the investigating agency and ensure witness protection. Failure to protect the safety and security of witnesses may result in ineffective or inefficient investigation, warranting a transfer of investigation to CBI.
Final Decision: The court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the investigation of the case, conduct further investigation, and submit a report. The State Investigating Agency was requested to hand over all materials to CBI and provide assistance. The matter was scheduled to appear after three months.
Joymalya Bagchi, J.
1. Writ petition has been filed by the son of one Arpan Mukherjee (since deceased) who suffered a ghastly death on the streets of a busy industrial township while he was on his daily morning walk on 10th May, 2012. It has been alleged in the First Information Report lodged with Hirapur Police Station that on the fateful day i.e. 10.05.2012 around 4.30 AM victim had left his residence in a Hero Honda motor-cycle for Burnpur stadium where he used to take a daily morning walk. It is further alleged while he was walking around the stadium at around 5.20PM/5.25PM, some unknown assailants came on a motorbike and fired at him at point blank range. He suffered bullet injuries on his head and other vital parts of his body and was shifted to the hospital for treatment.
2. The de facto complainant who is the son of the victim and the petitioner herein rushed to the hospital where he found his father who was lying with bullet injuries had been declared dead by the medical officer. On the F.I.R. being lodged by the petitioner, investigation commenced through the local investigating agency.
3. Being dissatisfied with the indifferent manner of investigation the petitioner initially approached this Court in W.P. 20262(W) of 2012 and prayed for transfer of investigation to C.I.D. West Bengal. It appears that during the pendency of the said writ petition, investigation was taken up by C.I.D. West Bengal and such investigation was conducted under the leadership of Sri Abas Nandi, O/C SOG, CID, W.B. The said agency, however, was unable to unravel the crime and trace out the miscreants and submitted a final report as true before the learned Magistrate.
4. Protest petition was filed against such final report and the learned Magistrate directed further investigation in the matter through local agency who also drew a blank and further closure report was filed in the matter. In the meantime, the petitioner again approached this Court in this writ proceeding and sought transfer of investigation to a specialized and independent agency, namely, CBI.
5. Mr. Bhattacharya, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that in spite of lapse of five years various investigating agency attached to the state administration have not been able to unravel the identity of the assailants who had gunned down the petitioner on a street of a busy town during his daily morning walk. It is also submitted that father of the victim was an active trade union leader and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of the State. The victim was a popular personality of the locality who was involved in various social activities in the area. He was a victim of a deep rooted political conspiracy as he belonged to a family actively involved in politics and, therefore, the State administration was unwilling to unravel the truth relating to his murder. In fact, being emboldened by the indifferent attitude of the investigating agency in the instant case, two other persons, namely, Nirgun Dubey and Dilip Sarkar belonging to the same trade union have also been gunned down on the streets of the said city and criminal cases registered in respect of such crimes have also yielded no result. He submitted that no serious effort was made on behalf of the investigating agency to interrogate the persons who were co-morning walkers and were present at the place of occurrence when the offence was committed. Motive of the crime and other relevant issues have also not been explored.
6. On the other hand, the investigating agency has merely expressed its inability to solve the crime and filed closure reports stating that the identity of the offender could not be found out as witnesses were not co-operative. In this backdrop, it is the cry of justice of the bereaved family that the investigation be transferred to a more specialized, well-equipped and responsible agency, namely, Central Bureau of Investigation for effective investigation into the crime.
7. Pursuant
