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2023 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 55788
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Ziyad Rahman A. A, J
SURENDRA BABU – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF KERALA – Respondent
WP(CRL.) NO. 98 OF 2022|WP(CRL.) NO. 426 OF 2021
For the Appellants/Petitioners: D.ANIL KUMAR
For the Respondents: P.NARAYANAN, P.VIJAYA BHANU, A.N.RAJAN BABU, M.G.KARTHIKEYAN
Investigatory powers under Section 173(8) of the Cr.P.C must be exercised cautiously, and any order for further investigation must be grounded in substantial justifiable reasons, not merely on potential alternative conclusions.
Headnote:(A) Indian Penal Code - Sections 403, 406, 408, and 420 - Writ petitions concerning investigation in a criminal case - The Court addressed the legality of the decision for further investigation ordered by the authorities, affirming that further investigation must be justified by valid reasons. (Paras 1, 9, 12, 14, 18, 24)
(B) Criminal Procedure Code - Section 173(8) - Powers of the investigation officer - The scope for conducting further investigation is broad, but must not be exercised arbitrarily or without justifiable grounds. (Paras 12, 20, 27)
Facts of the case:
Writ petition filed regarding the investigation into various allegations of misappropriation by a trustee of a public trust during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of an educational institution. The petitioners sought further investigation after a supplementary report found the allegations undetected.
Findings of Court:
The request for further investigation was deemed improper and was set aside; the initial findings were upheld, and the trial was ordered to continue based on those findings.
Issues: 1) Legality of the decision for further investigation. 2) Whether the directions sought by the accused for consideration of their representations warranted legal acceptance.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court ruled that arbitrary exercise of investigatory powers must not be endorsed and further investigations require substantial justifiable reasons.
Result: WP(Crl) No. 98/2022 allowed; WP(Crl) No. 426/2021 dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. investigation details and allegations summarized. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 2. legal arguments regarding the merits of further investigations. (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11) |
| 3. analytical observations on the powers of investigation. (Para 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16) |
| 4. scrutiny of the basis for further investigation. (Para 17 , 18 , 19) |
| 5. consideration of interests of prosecution and the defendant. (Para 20 , 21 , 22) |
| 6. determination of the legality of the decision for further investigation. (Para 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27) |
JUDGMENT
The issues involved in these writ petitions are in relation to the investigation in Crime No 727/2004 of Kollam East Police Station, which is renumbered as Crime No.119/CB/KLM & PTA/2018 of Crime Branch. The petitioner in WP(Crl)No.98/2022 is the defacto complainant, and the petitioner in WP(Crl)No. 426 of 2021 is the accused in the said crime. The offences alleged are under sections 420, 406, 408 and 403 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). For convenience, the parties are referred to in this writ petition as the defacto complainant and the accused.
2. The crime mentioned above was registered based on a private complaint submitted by the defacto complainant before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kollam, on 27.09.2004 alleging offences punishable under sections 403, 406, 408 and 420 of IPC. The learned Magistrate referred the same to the Kollam East Police Station for investigation under section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) and accordingly, the aforesaid crime was registered. Initially, after completing the investigation, a refer report was submitted by the police, which was objected to by the defacto complainant. The learned Magistrate accepted the objections, and a further investigation was ordered. After conducting further investigation, the police filed a supplementary final report stating that the offences were undetected, and this was also objected to by the defacto complainant. Therefore, a further investigation was conducted. Meanwhile, the defacto complainant approached this court by filing WP(C)No. 36361/2016, contending that no proper investigation was being conducted and hence the transfer of investigation to any other agency was sought. The said writ petition was allowed by directing the Crime Branch to constitute a Special Investigation Team and conduct the investigation. Accordingly, a team was formed, the crime was renumbered as above, and an investigation was conducted. Upon completion thereof, a final report implicating the accused was submitted, upon which cognizance was taken by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kollam, as C.C. No 50/2020, which is now pending trial.
3. The prosecution case is as follows; The defacto complainant is a member of the Board of Trustees of Sree Narayana Trust, Kollam(SN Trust). The accused has been the Secretary of the Trust since 1995. It is a Public Trust, running various establishments throughout the State, including various educational institutions. One of its most prominent educational institutions is Sree Narayana College, Kollam. As the year 1997-1998 was the Golden Jubilee year of the said College, the trust decided to celebrate the same. For the said purpose, a committee was formed, and the accused, the Secretary of the SN Trust, was selected as the Convener of the said committee. A bank account was opened in the Extension Counter of South Indian Bank in SN College, Kollam bearing No 3307, in the name of the accused, showing him as the convener of the Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee. Huge amounts were collected from various sources, such as donations, coupons etc. It is alleged that, in the said account, a total amount of Rs.65,58,107/- was collected, and as on 15.03.1999, the amounts in the said account, along with interest, was Rs.67,24,669/-. Besides the same, an All India Exhibition was conducted as part of the celebrations in the College, for which an exhibition committee (sub-committee) was formed wherein CW6, Pro
