IMPORTANT POINTS• A further investigation of a criminal case, after the charge sheet has been filed in a competent court, could affect the jurisdiction of the said Court under Section-173(8) of the Cr.P.C.
• As protectors of the civil liberties of citizens, the High Court has not only the power and jurisdiction but also an obligation to protect the fundamental rights guaranteed by Part III in General and Article 21 of our Constitution in particular, zealously and vigilantly.

A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR, J.

1. The State of Kerala is the appellant before us aggrieved by the judgment dated 07.03.2018 of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C) No.6630 of 2018. By the said judgment, the learned Judge transferred the investigation in FIR No. 202/2018 of the Mattannur Police Station from the Special Investigation Team headed by the Inspector General of Police, Kannur District, to the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI].

The facts in brief:

2. The writ petition was preferred by the parents of one Shuhaib, a 27 year old youth who was found hacked to death at Edayannoor, near Mattannur in Kannur District at about 10.50 pm on 12.02.2018. Based on the statement of one Riyas, who was also stated to have been injured during the aforesaid attack on Shuhaib, the Police registered the FIR No.202/2018 under Sections 341, 324, 307, 302 read with Section-34 of the Indian Penal Code[IPC] and under Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The writ petitioners alleged that the attack on Shuhaib was the fallout of a clash between local CPI(M) party workers and Congress Party workers over an incident where the CPI(M) workers allegedly vandalized the Local Congress Party office, and the Congress Party workers, led by Shuhaib, condemned the said act and organized a protest meet in retaliation. It was the apprehension of the petitioners that, since the alleged suspects owed allegiance to the ruling political dispensation in the State, there would be no fair investigation into the crime. The non-recovery of the weapons used for committing the crime, from the accused that were apprehended immediately after the event, was cited as an instance of shoddy investigation by the State investigating agencies. The petitioners were also perturbed by the non-invocation of the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (hereinafter referred to as the “UAPA”) while registering the FIR. The above omissions on the part of the investigating agency led the petitioners to lose their confidence in the said agency and it was therefore that they approached this Court with a prayer for transferring the investigation to the CBI.

The proceedings before the writ court:

3. The writ petition was presented before this Court on 27.02.2018 and on the same day the matter was posted to 06.03.2018 for the response of the State Government. As the matter could not be taken up on the said date, the matter stood adjourned to the next day i.e. 07.03.2018 when the State Attorney submitted a note giving details of the investigation carried on till then by Investigating team, and the arrests made in the course of such investigation.

3.1. The said note, which is produced along with the appeal memorandum, indicates that while the attack on the deceased Shuhaib was at 10.50 pm on 12.02.2018, the First Information Statement of Riyas was recorded at 03.15 Hrs on 13.02.2018 and the FIR was registered at Mattannur Police Station at 04.54 Hrs on 13.02.2018. On the same day an inquest was conducted and the body of the victim was subjected to Post mortem examination. The scene of occurrence was also examined with the assistance of a dog squad, finger print experts, forensic experts and a scene mahazar and seizure mahazar were prepared. A tower dump analysis was also conducted on the same day and CCTV footage was collected from within a radius of 5 Km of the scene of occurrence. Details of the vehicle used by the accused and the call detail records of all probable accused were also collected. Thereafter the District Police Chief, the Inspector General of Police, Kannur Range and the Director General of Police, North Zone visited the hospital where Riyas was admitted, and pursuant to a discussion among the officers, a ten member special squad was constituted to assist the investigation of the case. On 14.02.2018, based on a representation received from the President of the KPCC, the Chief Minister passed an order directing the State Police Chief to take