CBI Probe Can Be Ordered Even If There Is No Inter-State Or International Ramifications: Allahabad HC [Read Order]

The decision for C.B.I. investigation has to be taken depending on the attending facts and circumstances and also to eliminate the element of any bias or influence, the bench said.

The Allahabad High Court, while allowing a plea of the wife of a slain police officer to transfer the investigation into his death to the Central Bureau of Investigation, observed that the CBI can be entrusted investigation of a crime even if a case does not have inter-state or international ramifications.

Arti Gujar, the wife of slain police officer Anil Kumar, had approached the high court challenging the decision of the Government of India refusing CBI investigation despite the consent the state government had accorded for such investigation. The Central Government had refused CBI investigation stating two reasons: (i) that it appears to be a case of “chance killing”, and (ii) that the case does not have any inter-state or international ramifications.

Before the high court, Arti submitted that her husband was sent to the Police Lines and was placed under suspension and was even harassed to the extent that after being placed under suspension, he was forced to vacate the government premises allotted to him and was also forced to hand over his service revolver. She also stated that immediately before Anil Kumar was murdered, he was investigating two most-talked-about murder cases of district Pratapgarh and the authorities were aware of the fact that on account of hard work put in by the deceased, actual culprits were short-listed and it is only with a view to saving the actual culprits of these two murder cases that deceased Anil Kumar was placed under suspension on frivolous charges.

A bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh observed that the possibility of it being a case of premeditated murder cannot be ruled out and, therefore, it cannot be termed as a case of chance killing.

Directing the CBI investigation in this case, the bench said: “As regards the other reason recited in the communication dated 09.06.2016 by the Government of India refusing to undertake C.B.I. investigation that the case does not have any inter-state or international ramifications, we may observe that the C.B.I. can be entrusted with the investigation of a crime even if a case does not have such ramifications. The decision for C.B.I. investigation has to be taken depending on the attending facts and circumstances and also to eliminate the element of any bias or influence.”