Cooperation With Investigation Cannot Mean That Accused Says "Yes" To Allegations: Justice SK Kaul

In an interesting courtroom exchange today, Supreme Court judge Justice SK Kaul orally remarked that cooperation with the investigation by the accused did not necessarily mean that the accused person had to say "yes" to the allegations.  Justice Kaul added that the police could not merely claim that an accused individual was not cooperating during an investigation and emphasized the necessity of providing concrete evidence to support these assertions.

The remark arose during a case in which a counsel appeared before a bench comprising Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, arguing that the accused had been uncooperative with the ongoing investigation. The bench promptly asked the counsel to demonstrate the accused's lack of cooperation, highlighting the need for tangible proof. However, when the counsel failed to provide substantial evidence of the accused's non-cooperation, Justice Kaul intervened with a sharp retort, stating–

"Cooperation with investigation cannot mean that you call him and he says yes. Police can't just say that accused is not cooperating, it has to show how he isn't cooperating..."

Expressing his frustration with the trend of police making such assertions without providing evidence for the same, Justice Kaul added–

"In all the cases police is giving a standard response that the accused isn't cooperating. You have show how he is not cooperating."

At this juncture, the counsel sought for a day or two to take instructions in the matter. The bench accordingly gave him time to do so.