Prima Facie Bias Or Mala Fide Exercise Of Power By State Authorities Necessary For Transferring A Case To CBI: Calcutta High Court

Calcutta High Court on Thursday observed that the court is empowered to transfer an investigation to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) only where there is specific instance of bias or mala fide exercise of power on the part of State authorities.

Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya was dealing with the issue of investigation of death of one Ulen Roy who was killed during a Yuva Morcha in Siliguri last year.

The unfortunate accident of firing that took place on 7th December 2020 claimed the life of Ulen Roy who participated in the procession. The complaint was thereafter filed on 9th December 2020. Subsequently, the matter was handed over to the Criminal investigation Department (CID) on 10th December 2020.

According to the petitioner, the death occurred due to unusual happenings and also contended that the post mortem that was conducted was done in "unseemly haste and in the dead of night."

Adv. Mahesh Jethmalani appeared on behalf of the petitioner.

It was also the case of the petitioner that the police authorities tried to cover up the cause of death as she was the supporter of a political party which was "opposed to the ruling party of the State Government".

Therefore, the petitioner prayed that the complaint shall be transferred to the CBI for further investigation in the matter.

However this prayer was denied by the Advocate General by arguing that the case could not be transferred to the CBI as it was already transferred to the CID on 10th December 2020.

At the outset, the bench observed "The question remains whether the facts qualify for the benchmark of exceptional circumstances in the form of blatant State interference so as to warrant divesting the Criminal Investigation Department of an ongoing investigation and transferring the same to the CBI."

In the light of the arguments put forth by both the sides, the Court observed that appointment of an independent agency must be evaluated on the facts and circumstances of each case. The Court was also of the view that vague and unsubstantiated allegations are simply not enough for transferring cases to CBI.

"Appointing an independent agency rests on the notion that the measures taken to unravel the truth are not enough. The facts must point to blatant omissions and unmistakable lacunae in the fact finding exercise so that the court would have no other alternative but to transfer the investigation to an independent agency. The apprehension of interference in the investigation by the State machineries or by parties who are interested in the outcome of the investigation must be clearly borne out from records." The Court held.

Furthermore, the bench also observed that a court is empowered to transfer an investigation to another agency provided the court finds that high officials of State authorities are involved or the accusation is against top officials of the investigating agency thereby allowing them to influence the investigation or where the investigation is prima facie found to be tainted.

Therefore, the Court while observing that no prima facie allegations were made against the CID in the instant case, denied the transfer of investigation to the CBI.

At the outset, the Court issued the following directions to the CID in investigating the death of Ulen Roy:

• The investigation must be conducted in a time-bound manner, taking into account all relevant evidence, including the Case Diary of the local police authorities, pointing to the cause of death of Ulen Roy.

• The CID will complete the investigation within four weeks from the date and not later than 5th March, 2021.

• The CID will file a Report of the progress made in the investigation by 22nd February, 2021 before this Court. The Report will indicate the action taken by the Criminal Investigation Department on a day-to-day basis.

• The investigation will be conducted by the Additional Director General, Criminal Investigation Department having his Office at Bhabani Bhawan, Alipore, Kolkata. The A.D.G., Criminal Investigation Department will assess the evidentiary value of the opinion of the Medical Board pertaining to the cause of death.

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