'State Investigating Agency Unable To Reach Culprit': Punjab & Haryana High Court Directs CBI To Probe "Brutal" Murder Of 8 Yr Old Boy

Observing that, “it has become necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in the public mind”, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed CBI probe to investigate the “gruesome murder” of 8 years old boy, after Haryana police failed to find the culprits.

Justice Deepak Gupta observed that “when even the Special investigation team constituted by the State Investigating Agency is unable to reach to the culprit, it will be quite unjustifiable to relegate the petitioner to approach the jurisdictional Magistrate to file a private complaint. Interest of justice demands that some expert agency, like CBI, should be entrusted with the investigation of the case in order to reach the truth. Investigation of the case is accordingly directed to be transferred to the CBI.”

These observations came in response to the plea seeking fair investigation filed by a father of an 8-year-old boy named Rizwan, who is alleged to have been brutally and savagely murdered in a gruesome manner, but the investigating agencies are unable to reach the culprit.

An FIR was lodged under Section 365 IPC, to which Sections 302 and 201 IPC were added later on, registered at Police Station Mundkati, Palwal, Haryana.

In 2021, the petitioner's son Rizwan was allegedly kidnapped after he left the house for a mosque and later after a week, his body was found decomposed in the fields.

According to the petitioner, his son was murdered in revenge by a person who had filed a criminal case against the petitioner in 2017.

Considering the petition, adding that "it is evident from all the status reports, as have been produced before this Court by the investigating agency of the respondent-State, they have failed to reach to the culprit," the Court said, "It is neither the case of the respondents that death of Rizwan was natural nor this is the conclusion of the board of doctors, who conducted the postmortem examination."

Thus, the net result was that even though the unnatural death of a minor boy had been caused, the investigating agencies had failed to nab the culprit, said the bench.

In observing that the transference of investigation only takes place in exceptional cases, the court also summarised the following situations which may be considered while ordering the transfer of investigation:

Where it becomes necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in the public mind, in the investigations.

When the incident may have national and international ramifications.

Such an order may be necessary for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundamental rights.

When the Court feels that the investigation by the police authorities is not in a proper direction, or

When high police officials are involved in the alleged crime, or where investigation by the State police lacks credibility and it is necessary for having “a fair, honest and complete investigation”, and particularly, when it is imperative to retain public confidence in the impartial working of the State agencies. ...”

In light of the above the Court opined that no incriminating material had been found against the suspects named by the petitioner and that it had become necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in the public mind.

Accordingly, the CBI was directed to conduct a free and impartial investigation into the matter to do complete justice and enforce the fundamental rights of the petitioner.

Appearance: Abhinav Sood, Advocate, for the petitioner.

Parveen Kumar Aggarwal, DAG, Haryana.

Rajeev Anand, Advocate, for respondent-CBI

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (PH)12

Title: Mustak v. State of Haryana and others

Click here to read/download the order