'Police Unable To Detect Offence': Gujarat High Court Transfers 9-Year-Old Probe Of Alleged Sexual Assault, Murder Of Minor Boy To CBI

The Gujarat High Court recently transferred to the CBI a nine year old probe concerning a minor boy who had been allegedly "kidnapped", "murdered" and "sexually assaulted" in 2015, after his father moved a plea seeking transfer of investigation in the case to the central agency. 

The court did so after noting that "till date" no suspect/offender had been traced, and it further noted that the police report submitted before it repeated the "same story" as before indicating the police's "inability" to trace the suspect and offender or "properly detect" the offence. 

A single judge bench of Justice Hasmukh D Suthar in its order said, "Considering the seriousness of the offence and the inability of the respondent authority to detect an offence and the fact that more than nine years have been pass without any fruitful outcome of investigation, it is expedient to direct the respondent authority to hand over the investigation of FIR...to the Central Bureau of Investigation, along with all related case documents for the investigation of FIR...". 

Background

The petitioner father had alleged that one day in December 2015 as per routine, his minor son did not come back home from school. When he went to the school and met with the school's trustee he was informed that all the students had left at the usual time. When the father inquired from his son's friends, who confirmed that they had all left the school at about 12:15 PM. He then informed his relatives and friends about the incident and visited the school again, where he found his son's bicycle next to the parking area near a pan shop.

The petitioner said that he searched for his son throughout the evening but could not find him. As a result, a complaint was registered for the offences punishable under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. A few days later, the police found the dead body of the petitioner's son near a dam.

"The postmortem report revealed that the petitioner's son had been brutally murdered after being subjected to unnatural sex. Consequently, Sections 377 and 302 were added to the charges," the order notes. 

Findings

The court after perusing through the record said, "From the record, it appears that no fruitful outcome of the investigation has been brought on record, despite various orders passed by this Court in this regard. On 25th July 2024, this Court observed that, considering the seriousness of the offence and the fact that the FIR was registered for offences punishable under Sections 363, 302, 377, and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act, and Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, a Special Investigation Team was constituted pursuant to the order dated 27-09-2017 passed by the Director General of Police, Gandhinagar. However, till date, no fruitful outcome of the investigation has been reported, and no suspect or offender has been traced". 

The court further noted that previously at the request of the prosecution three weeks time was granted with a direction to the respondent authorities to investigate the offence and submit a report, failing which the Additional D.G., Crime-1, CID Crime and Railways, Gandhinagar, would remain present on the next date of hearing. 

When the matter was taken up again on August 16, the court noted the prosecution's report in the matter, which however stated that the police authorities had been unable to trace the suspect, offender or properly detect the offence. 

Transferring the probe to the CBI, the high court went on to dispose of the plea. 

Case title: X v/s State of Gujarat & Ors. 

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Guj) 126

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