DGP Has No Power To Order Further Investigation That Too By Transferring Probe From One Agency To Another: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently set aside an order of the Director General of Police transferring the investigation in a case from the state police to the Crime Branch of CID. The court held that the DGP had no powers to order for fresh investigation by transferring the trial to another agency and that the order was legally not sustainable. Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan observed that only a court could order for fresh investigation or re-investigation and by filing a new FIR in the guise of conducting further investigation, the DGP and the CB-CID had played with the court. The court added that what had prompted the DGP to suo motu order transfer of investigation was a “million dollaw question”. “This Court shocked to see that the first respondent ordered for further investigation by transferring the investigation from the file of the fourth respondent to the file of the fifth respondent without even referring to the final report in Cr.No.98 of 2019 and without any request made by either accused or by complainant. It shows the influence of the accused with the police officials,” the court observed. Background The petitioner, Lakshmipathy had filed a complaint against two men accusing them of installing CCTV cameras projecting the restroom meant for women working on his campus. Based on the complaint, a case was registered for offences under Section 354C of IPC Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act 1998, and Section 66(E) of the IT Act. Though the accused had moved the High Court to quash the FIR, the court dismissed the plea and directed the Inspector of Police to complete the investigation. The state police had filed the final report before the Judicial Magistrate-III, Coimbatore which was taken cognizance of. Following this, the DGP, on his own, ordered for transfer of the investigation to the CBCID for further investigation and nominated an officer as the Investigation Officer. The CBCID then re-registered FIR and filed a plea in the trial court seeking permission to conduct further investigation. Though the trial court dismissed the petition, the CBCID, continued with investigation, disobeying the court order. The court noted that further investigation was nothing but a subsequent stage to the primary investigation and the investigating officer could not be permitted to do re-investigation, fresh or de nova investigation unless ordered by the court. The court added that neither the investigating agency nor the Magistrate had any power to order or conduct a fresh investigation. The court also noted that while the High Court dismissed a plea to quash the FIR, the CBCID tried to overcome this order by registering a fresh FIR and closing it as a mistake of fact. The court further said that the CBCID could only continue with the investigation carried on by the State police and file a supplementary report and ought not to have conducted a fresh investigation. The court thus quashed the final report submitted by the Investigating Officer of the CB-CID and recalled an earlier of the High Court dismissing a challenge to the transfer of investigation. The court directed the trial court to proceed with the trial based on the cognizance taken on the final report filed by the State police, Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr.Devadatt Kamat, Senior Counsel for Mr.E.K.Kumaresan, Mr.R.John Sathyan, Senior Counsel for Mr.C.V.Shailandharan Counsel for the Respondents: Mr.A.Gopinath, Government Advocate(crl.side) Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 86 Case Title: S Lakshmipathy v The State and Others Case No: CRL.O.P.No.7122 of 2023Click here to read/download the judgment

DGP Has No Power To Order Further Investigation That Too By Transferring Probe From One Agency To Another: Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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