Chandigarh, March 18
In a judgment liable to change the way criminal cases are probed, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday barred the police from entertaining representation/request on behalf of the accused to examine innocence.
The order would be applicable in every case where the investigation was underway after the registration of FIR. The Bench also prohibited the initiation of parallel inquiries.
Justice Manoj Bajaj also quashed instructions dated May 4, 2017, which empowered police officers to carryout fresh inquiries on commission of offences. “It is evident that the instructions violate the process and procedure of investigation established by Code of Criminal Procedure and further cause abuse of the process of Court by submitting conflicting reports, which is against the cardinal principles of administration of criminal law,” Justice Bajaj ruled.
Describing such inquiries as sheer and blatant interference with the process of justice, Justice Bajaj said it could not stand the test of justification. It was unfair for the prosecution also to forward inconsistent reports expressing diverse opinions on the same facts without any other material or evidence. “By following the instructions, the police officers higher in rank have violated the procedural law of investigation contained in Code of Criminal Procedure.”
Justice Bajaj also made it clear that a trial Court could pass appropriate orders for suitable departmental/penal action against officers, if it found upon conclusion of trial that the acquittal of the accused was due to deliberate lapses in investigation. In all, Justice Bajaj issued seven commandments on criminal investigation.
Justice Bajaj added the investigation would be conducted by the investigating officer strictly in accordance with the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure. It would be necessary to intimate the magistrate concerned in writing, along with the reasons, in cases where the State government or the police ordered transfer of investigation after its commencement.
It would also be mandatory to send a report to the magistrate, whenever the investigating officer decided to hold or stop the investigation against all or any of the accused after commencement of the probe.
Both the governments of Punjab and Haryana, along with the UT Administration were directed to ensure that the police officers and public prosecutors were properly sensitised about their responsibilities and duties to strictly adhere to the statutory provisions of law on the investigation in crime.
