[Dr Vandana Das Murder Case] No Serious Flaws In Investigation: Kerala High Court Dismisses Plea For Transfer Of Probe To CBI

Dr. Vandana Das, the 23-year-old house surgeon was stabbed to death by an injured man who was brought to the government hospital by Pooyappally police. The young house surgeon was stabbed sixteen times by Sandeep, a school teacher, using dressing room scissors.

Dismissing the writ petition, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas stated that Dr Vandana's parents have not raised allegations stating the police officers have any motive or criminal intent.

“The allegations in the instant case do not strictly point out the involvement of any police personnel in the crime. Moreover, the disciplinary proceedings against them (police personnel who accompanied Sandeep to hospital) are admittedly pending. Since the petitioners were not able to point out any specific reasons to doubt the integrity or credibility of the investigation, this Court finds no reason to interfere with the investigation already conducted or to transfer the probe to CBI. Accordingly, there is no merit in this writ petition. Hence, it is dismissed”, the Court stated.

The Court further observed that the petitioners could not point out any serious flaws in the investigation, except certain omissions on the part of the police. It stated that there were also no allegations of involvement of police in the crime.

“No serious flaws could be pointed out by the petitioners in the manner in which the investigation was conducted, except for certain omissions on the part of the police who had accompanied Sandeep to the hospital. There is no allegation of any direct involvement of any of the police officers in the crime. No criminal intent is attributed to the police for their omission to protect the public from the attacks of the accused”, added the Court.

The Court stated that the circumstances under which the probe could be transferred to the CBI were no longer res integra. Relying upon Apex Court decisions, the Court observed that an investigation could be handed over to an independent agency when accusations were directed against the local police or for the satisfaction of the family of the deceased person. It thus stated that the investigation could be handed over to CBI when the police were under a scanner of doubt and fingers were pointed at them. It stated that this was not an inflexible rule and would depend upon the circumstances involved in each case to decide whether a CBI investigation was warranted or not.

In the facts of the case, the Court stated that “there is no allegation of any criminal intent or act committed by any of the police officers. Petitioners allege only an act of cowardice by the police.”

It stated that omission on the part of the police should be coupled with criminal intent to impute criminality to the police which was lacking in the present case.

“There is no allegation even that the police who brought Sandeep to the hospital had any criminal intent by allegedly fleeing away from the scene of occurrence. An error in the judgment in mistaking the gravity of acts of the accused are not reasons to assume complicity in the crime”, observed the Court.

Accordingly, it dismissed the writ petition seeking the transfer of probe to the CBI.

The plea has been moved through Senior Advocate P. Vijaya Bhanu, and Advocates Sruthy N. Bhat, Nikita J. Mendez, M. Revikrishnan, Ajeesh K. Sasi, Rahu.

Special Prosecutor for CBI, Senior Counsel Dr K.P Satheesan assisted by Advocates Bharath Mohan and Gokul D Sudakaran appeared for the CBI.

Additional Director General of Prosecution, Grashious Kuriakose appeared for the State Police.

Case title: K. G. Mohandas v Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI)

Case number: WP(Crl.) 641/ 2023

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 92