Dama Seshadri Naidu, J.

Facts in Brief:

The appellant, a father, has lost his son in what is believed to be a tragic accident. Unconvinced of the cause of his son's death, the appellant filed W.P.(C) No. 1161 of 2012. His principal grievance was that his son had fallen in love with a police officer's daughter; that the police officer's son and his friends threatened the petitioner's son with dare consequences, if he continued his love affair; that eventually he had been done away with. He accuses the police of shoddy and ineffectual investigation. Therefore, he filed the writ petition seeking reinvestigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into his son's death.

2. This Court, per a learned Single Judge, through a judgment dated 27.07.2012, dismissed the writ petition. Further aggrieved, the father filed this writ appeal.

Submissions:

Appellant's:

3. Sri. A.X. Varghese, the learned counsel for the appellant, has submitted that the appellant's son, hale and hearty, was in the prime of his youth-aged 27 years. According to the learned counsel, the appellant's son fell in love with a police officer's daughter. After coming to know of their love affair, the girl's brother with his friends assaulted the appellant's son and threatened him that they would do away with him unless he desisted from loving his sister. It is the appellant's specific case, as contended by the learned counsel, that when his son was going on his motorbike on 13.07.2011, some unknown assailants waylaid and killed him.

4. The learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that even in the autopsy, the cause of death, though said to be an accident, has never been conclusive. Had it been a case of hit and run, there ought to have been tyre-marks of the offending vehicle or any other tell-tale signs of an accident, of collision. The learned counsel has emphasised that the motorbike ridden by the deceased was undamaged--and it was, further, found neatly parked to the side of the road.

5. Elaborating his submissions, the learned counsel has drawn our attention to the forensic report, where the doctors have concluded that "tyre marks of any vehicle could not be detected". According to the learned counsel, the judgment appealed against suffers from fatal flaws because it has failed to consider the vital aspects, such as the ineffectual investigation by the police for the suspect is from their ranks. Eventually, the learned counsel has urged this Court to set aside the impugned judgment and direct the CBI to investigate the crime afresh.

Respondents':

6. The learned Director General of Prosecution (DGP), on his part, has submitted that the police have conducted a thorough, professional investigation. According to him, they have never been biased or influenced. He has further submitted that even the appellant did not allege that the police have been influenced. In further elaboration of his submissions, the learned DGP would contend that an investigation by the CBI could not be for mere asking if the State Police force is found neither wanting in skills nor guilty of any professional misconduct.

7. As we have directed earlier, the prosecution has provided the entire Case Diary. Drawing our attention to the CD, thus placed before us, the learned DGP has pointed out that the medical reports concluded that the appellant's son had been heavily drunk; an inordinate amount of alcohol was found in his blood. He has also emphasised that it was more than probable that the appellant's son had been run over by a speeding heavy-vehicle. Eventually, the learned DGP has urged us not to interfere with the impugned judgment, which, according to him, has considered all factors before declining the appellant's request to direct a CBI investigation into the cause of his son's death.

8. Heard the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned Director General of Prosecution, besides perusing the record.

The Power of the High Court to Order Investigation by CBI:

9. Investigating agen