Judge Uttam Anand Death- 'Feeding Particular Questions To Get Particular Answers Isn't Appreciated': Jharkhand HC Pulls Up IO, SIT Head

The Jharkhand High Court, while accepting the recommendations of the State Government and transferring the investigation of the Dhanbad Judge death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, raised several pertinent questions to the Investigating Agency.

A bench of Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad perused the affidavit filed by the DGP and head of the Special Investigation Team.

On perusal of the post-mortem report and questionnaire framed by the Investigation Officer, Mr. Vinay Kumar, the Court noted that when the CCTV footage clarified the entire scene of occurrence and the post-mortem reveals injury by 'hard and blunt substance' then why it was required to ask the doctor- 'whether the injuries in the head are possible by fall on the road surface or not?'

Noting that it is for the Investigating Agency to find out the weapon of crime, the Court strongly denounced that a particular question is being fed to get a particular answer. The order states that the Court raised questions to the Investigating Officer in the presence of the Director-General of police and the Head of the Special Investigating Team, but they could not respond properly. 

It remarked that it is intriguing to note that when the CCTV footage of the incident became viral within 2- 4 hours and the Judge was taken to a private hospital at about 5.30 A.M  then why the FIR was registered so belatedly at 12.45 P.M only after a complaint was filed by the wife of the deceased Judicial Officer. The Court questioned,

"The CCTV must be regularly being monitored by police. The Doctors of the Hospital must also have informed the police then why the police became active only after the complaint being lodged by the wife of Judicial Officer becomes questionable."

The Court also posed a question to the Advocate General Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra and the Director-General of Police as to steps being taken to provide security to the court premises of the Civil Court, Dhanbad and residential premises of the judicial officers in the district of Dhanbad so that they may perform their judicial work without feeling any insecurity. It also raised a query to look into the security measures of the court premises of each and every Judgeship of the State of Jharkhand, including the residential premises of the judicial officers of the different Judgeships of the State.

The Advocate General and the Director-General of Police assured this Court that adequate and immediate security measures would be taken forthwith to provide security in the court premises and residential premises of the Judgeship of Dhanbad and other districts and the same would be brought to the notice of this Court.

Noting that the matter is having urgency requiring the conspiracy part of the occurrence, if any, to be investigated the Court the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India and the Director, CBI to immediately come up with appropriate order/notification for taking over the investigation, the Court called for a progress report on the investigation to be produced in a sealed cover by the Investigating Agency on or before the next date of hearing through the virtual appearance of an officer of the CBI.

The matter has been posted on August 12, 2021

Title: Court On Its Own Motion v. The State of Jharkhand 

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