IMPORTANT POINT
Transfer of investigation requires concrete evidence of bias, not mere allegations; the integrity of the investigation must be maintained.

JUDGMENT :

P.B.Suresh Kumar, J.

“Nothing matters but the facts. Without them, the science of criminal investigation is nothing more than a guessing game” said the renowned filmmaker, Blake Edwards. These words, in our view, serve as the perfect prelude to this judgment.

2. The scrutiny that we are called upon to undertake in this case relates to the factual justification for the appellant in approaching this Court for transferring the investigation in the case registered in connection with the death of her husband, from the State Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

3. The husband of the appellant, the former Additional District Magistrate, Kannur, was found dead by hanging in his official quarters on 15.10.2024. The Kannur Town Police registered a crime within few hours under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ( BNS S). In the course of the investigation, it was revealed that the deceased faced public humiliation at the hands of one P.P.Divya, the then President of the Kannur District Panchayat, who in her speech, during the farewell function of the deceased on the previous evening, accused the deceased of corruption in connection with the issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for opening a fuel outlet. She threatened to expose him within two days and recorded the visuals of that function to propagate the same through social media with an intent to publicly humiliate him, and left the function before the memento was handed over to the deceased. Alleging that the aforesaid acts of P.P. Divya forced the deceased to commit suicide, she was arrayed as the accused in the case by substituting Section 194 of BNS S with Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 ( BNS ), and the investigation was being continued on that basis. While so, on 25.10.2024, having regard to the nature of the case, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Sri.Ajit Kumar, IPS, District Police Chief was constituted by the concerned Inspector General of Police, and the investigation in the case is being continued thereafter by the SIT.

4. The appellant approached this Court with the writ petition at that stage seeking orders transferring the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging that there are circumstances which create doubt as to whether it was a case of suicide and the accused being a member of the District Committee of the Political Party, CPI(M) which is in power in the State, the SIT is attempting to conceal evidence. The Station House Officer, Kannur Town Police Station filed a counter affidavit in the writ petition on behalf of the respondents refuting the allegations in the writ petition contending that the SIT, which is led and supervised by high- ranking officers, has been conducting the investigation in a fair and impartial manner, adhering to established investigative protocols and that no exceptional circumstances are made out to entrust the investigation with the CBI.

5. The grounds highlighted by the appellant in the writ petition to justify an approach to this Court for transferring the investigation are the following:

(i) The inquest was carried out before the petitioner and her family members had arrived at the scene though it is mandatory for the police officer to ensure the presence of close relatives during the inquest.

(ii) Necessary CCTV footage, especially from the premises of the Collectorate, the Railway Station and the official quarters of the deceased were not seized by the SIT.

(iii) No positive steps have been taken to collect the Call Data Records of the District Collector, Kannur, the accused, and Sri. Prasanth who applied for a NOC before the deceased to start a fuel outlet.

(iv) The scientific evidence, such as cellophane lifting from the palm of the deceased and the ligature allegedly used for hanging