CrPC Doesn’t Envisage One Sided Investigation: Bombay High Court Directs Police To Consider WhatsApp Chats Submitted By Accused

Observing that the investigating officer’s role is not just to strengthen the prosecution's case but to unearth the truth, the Bombay High Court recently held that the investigating agency cannot refuse to go through material submitted by the accused if it is relevant to the case.

A division bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice MW Chandwani sitting at Nagpur judgment directed the police to consider certain printouts of WhatsApp chats submitted by the accused during its investigation in a cruelty and suicide abetment case.

“No doubt, the investigating officer shall be given complete and full freedom to carry the investigation in accordance with law. The material which is sought to be produced by the accused may or may not help the investigating agency, but, it is totally unacceptable that he shall not look into the same. We do not see any provision of law which precludes the investigating officer to go through the material if he finds it relevant and germane to arrive at the truth”, the court held.

The applicant, Nikhil Ashokrao Waghmare, got married on December 19, 2021. His wife died by suicide on February 20, 2022. Her father filed a case against Waghmare alleging cruelty and harassment, which led to her death. Waghmare was booked under Sections 498-A and 306 IPC along with his family members.

He filed an application to the police to accept printouts of certain WhatsApp chats for their consideration in the investigation. However, the police refused to accept the documents. Thus, they filed the present application before the High Court seeking direction to the investigating officer to consider the documents during the course of investigation.

Senior Advocate SV Manohar for the applicants argued that these documents were pivotal and could potentially exonerate the accused by establishing their innocence. He contended that the investigating officer is bound to consider all material whether or not it supports the prosecution to ensure a fair investigation process.

APP MJ Khan for the State contended that the documents submitted by the accused were a probable defence, which is a matter of trial, and cannot be considered during the investigation. He contended that the courts should not interfere with the investigating officer's powers to handle a cognizable offense and stressed that the investigating officer should be left free to decide the course of investigation.

The court emphasised that the fundamental principle of the criminal justice system is to ascertain the truth, and the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The court stressed the importance of a fair, impartial, and transparent criminal investigation for ensuring a fair trial for both the victim and the accused.

The court said that in a fair investigation, the investigating officer considers all relevant material. The term 'investigation' as defined under Section 2(h) of the CrPC, encompasses the collection of evidence, with no specification that evidence collection should support the prosecution's case, the court noted.

“Needless to say that the Code of Criminal Procedure does not envisage one sided investigation aimed at collecting material only to substantiate the case of prosecution”, said the court.

The court gave the example of a case of alleged consensual sex with a minor, in which the accused seeks to submit birth certificate of the victim to prove that she was major on the date of occurrence, which would materially divert the investigation. “In such a situation, the police cannot say that let the charge sheet be filed for the offence of rape and then the accused shall tender birth certificate in defence during trial”, the court said.

In another illustration of a crime requiring physical presence of the culprit, the accused may seek to submit unquestionable documents showing that he was abroad at the relevant time. In such a situation also, the documents would help the investigating agency to arrive to the truth, the court noted.

The court pointed out that there could be numerous other situations where vital material is brought to the investigating officer, and it must not be disregarded during an investigation. The court emphasized that the investigating officer has the discretion to rely on the material or not.

The court allowed the application, directing the investigating officer to consider the documents submitted by the accused during the course of the investigation. It emphasized that the investigating officer should use their discretion to determine the relevance and reliability of the materials presented.

Case no. – Criminal Application No. 573 of 2022

Case Title – Nikhil Ashokrao Waghmare and Ors. v. State of Maharashtra and Anr.

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