Accused Persons Are 'Veterans Of Investigation': Gujarat HC Transfers Custodial Death Probe From Local Police [Read Order]

"The Court cannot be oblivious of the fact that it is dealing with those persons who themselves are the veterans of the field of investigation and may also have mastered the art of overreacting the process", observed the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday in transferring the investigation in the Vadodara custodial death case to CID Crime.

Justices Sonia Gokani and N. V. Anjaria were hearing the habeas plea by an Ahmedabad-based man, urging that his father, namely Shaikh Babu Shaikh @ Rahim Shaikh Vajir, aged 65 years, is missing since 10.12.2019.

The bench commented that while the delinquent police personnel are not available to face the process of law, already initiated against them pursuant to the detailed directions issued by this court, there are "shocking details" emerging as to how for days and months, no clue is received of a missing person about whom inquiries were made incessantly.

The Division Bench noticed that a month has passed since the FIR had come to be lodged upon several orders passed by the court, and that after the inquiry conducted at the ends of some officers, there appears to be no possibility of tracing the corpus, the whereabouts of the corpus not revealed till date.

The Court, on Wednesday, remarked that "much time has already lapsed and more the time will go, there is a likelihood of the evidence to be destroyed".

The bench appreciated the fact that the Additional Police Commissioner, Vadodara City who had taken over the investigation in the matter, and who is also the complainant in the instant case, has agreed to amend the FIR to insert section 302, IPC in place of the earlier provision of section 304. The bench, however, stated in the same breath that the "agreement of addition of provision on his part is not sufficient discharge of duty" and that "there will be a requirement of valid proofs before the Court of law".

The prayer to change the investigating agency had been preferred by the petitioner, pointing out that till date, not a single accused has been arrested despite all of them being police officers. "His grievance is that the corpus is not available till date and although Section 302 of the IPC is agreed to have been added, there is no clarity about anything", recorded the bench. It was also pressed that if on the one hand, the accused chooses not to be available to the investigating officer, and on the other hand, he prefers a petition before this

Court seeking quashing of the case, that itself speaks volumes of the "connivance" and hence, there is an imminent need for the Court to change the investigating agency.

On Wednesday, the bench deemed it "utmost necessary" for the investigating agency to "gear up and reach to the truth of the matter by collecting all vital evidence and also ensuring that those evidences did not get lost". Accordingly, the Court acceded to the request for change of investigating agency rather than permitting some more time in the matter to the Vadodara police as that may "further result in loss of vital evidence".

The petitioner before the High Court has alleged that on 09.12.2019, his father had gone to Vadodara Railway Station to get his bicycle (on which he carried out his retail dealing in clothes) and from there, he was taken to the Fatehganj Police Station for interrogation and since then, he has not been heard of. On taking cognisance of the matter, the division bench had found from the report of the Additional Police Commissioner, Vadodara city that the corpus was called for inquiring into his involvement in some offence on 10.12.2019 at the Fatehganj Police Station. It was a surveillance squad of the Fatehganj Police Station that had taken him at 11:30 in the morning and he was allowed to leave the police station at 17:25 hours after making a note in the police station diary. The whereabouts of this person, after he was permitted to leave at 17:25 hours on 10.12.2019, according to this report, is not found.

Consequently, the bench had directed the Additional Police Commissioner to make all possible attempts to bring the corpus before this Court.

Subsequently, on July 6, a FIR for the offences punishable under Sections 304, 201, 203, 204 and 34 of the IPC had come to be registered at the instance of the Addl. Police Commr. The first informant's report to the Court conveyed as to how the corpus, alive or dead, is not found, and that all indicators point to the corpus not being alive.

Noting that those who are arraigned as accused in this matter are absconding, and the efforts are on to arrest them, the bench had required the FIR to be amended so as to add the provision of Section 302 instead of Section 304 of the IPC.

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