Irked At Perfunctory Probe, Allahabad HC Orders Specialized Training For IO To Enhance Skills In Murder Case Investigations

The Allahabad High Court recently censured an Investigating Official for hastily filing a chargesheet under Section 306 IPC after dropping the charge under Section 302 IPC, initially specified in the FIR. A bench of Justice Manju Rani Chauhan further directed the Commissioner of Police, Police Commissionerate, Agra, to send the IO for special training to prepare him for investigating offences, especially under Section 302 IPC. Till completion of his training, he should not be entrusted with any investigation, the court further directed. The order was passed by the single judge while dealing with the bail petition filed by one Bhudev against whom a chargesheet was filed under Section 306 IPC. On the last day of the hearing in the matter, the Court asked the IO to explain how he converted Section 302 IPC into Section 306 IPC. Even though he could not justify his action in his personal affidavit filed before the Court, he tendered an unconditional apology for the inconvenience. However, the Court took strong note of this and observed that it has been experienced that the Investigating Officers, in most cases, discharge their duties “perfunctorily” as per their “own whims” without adhering to their assigned obligations. Referring to the instant case, the Court noted that the offence under Section 302 IPC was converted to Section 306 IPC casually without collecting material evidence in support. The court noted that the IO did not even mention why they concluded that the offence should be converted into a different section. Given this, the Court directed the IO to undergo specialised training. “The training certificate of the said officer and the guidelines issued by the Director General of Police, U.P., Lucknow, as observed in previous order of this Court, be communicated to the Registrar General of this Court which shall be placed on the record of this case,” the Court directed. Importantly, while dealing with this matter last month, the Court had expressed concern over the disturbing trend of filing chargesheets indiscriminately, especially in cases of murder, without due diligence in evidence collection. The Court had also required the Director General of Police to intervene and issue comprehensive guidelines to rectify these deficiencies. In its bail order, the Court noted that the state could not show any exceptional circumstances for denial of bail to the accused, who has been accused of forcibly giving some poisonous substance to his wife, leading to her death. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of the offence, evidence, the accused's complicity, the applicant's period of detention for the alleged offence, and the submissions of learned counsel for the parties, the Court granted him bail. Case title - Bhudev vs. State of U.P. 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 340 Case citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 340 Click Here ToRead/Download Order

Irked At Perfunctory Probe, Allahabad HC Orders Specialized Training For IO To Enhance Skills In Murder Case Investigations

Sparsh Upadhyay

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