'Unresolved Crimes Erode Public Trust In Institutions': Supreme Court Orders CBI Probe Into Death Of Manipuri Woman In Delhi In 2013

Recently, the Supreme Court held that the power of the constitutional courts to transfer the investigation to the CBI must be exercised sparingly and in exceptional circumstances, however, the constitutional courts aren't restrained to transferring the investigation to the CBI for doing complete justice and ensuring there is no violation of fundamental rights.

Observing so, the Court transferred the investigation into the death of a 25-year-old Manipur woman in Delhi which took place in 2013.

“It is to observe that unresolved crimes tend to erode public trust in institutions which have been established for maintaining law and order. Criminal investigation must be both fair and effective. We say nothing on the fairness of the investigation appears to us, but the fact that it has been ineffective is self evident. The kith and kin of the deceased who live far away in Manipur have a real logistical problem while approaching authorities in Delhi, yet they have their hope alive, and have shown trust and confidence in this system. We are therefore of the considered view that this case needs to be handed over to CBI, for a proper investigation and also to remove any doubts in the minds of the appellants, and to bring the real culprits to justice.”, the Bench Comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and Sudhanshu Dhulia said.

The observation of the Supreme Court came while deciding the plea of the kin of the deceased against the decision of the Delhi High Court which had turned down their demand to transfer the investigation from the Delhi Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The case relates to the investigation of the murder case of a 25-year-old girl who was found dead in her room with blood splattered around her body. The kin of deceased girl suspected the landlord to have committed the crime. However, the High Court turned down the appellant's application stating that simply because the premises of the landlord had access to the room of the deceased it could not be said that they were guilty of committing the crime

Considering the fact that the blood was spattered around the deceased body and finding no reason for a young girl to commit suicide, the Supreme Court observed that prima facie it does not seem to be a case of suicide but a homicidal death requiring the culprits to be apprehended.

The court referred to its Judgment of State of West Bengal and Others vs Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, West Bengal and others, while transferring the investigation from SIT to CBI. In the aforesaid case, the court had discussed in detail inter alia the circumstances under which the Constitutional Courts would be empowered to issue directions for CBI enquiry to be made.

"This extraordinary power must be exercised sparingly, cautiously and in exceptional situations where it becomes necessary to provide credibility and instil confidence in investigations or where the incident may have national and international ramifications or where such an order may be necessary for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundamental rights…", the court observed in Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, West Bengal case.

After noting that the kin of the deceased live far away from the place of occurrence of the incident, the court handed over the investigation to the CBI.

"We are therefore of the considered view that this case needs to be handed over to CBI, for a proper investigation and also to remove any doubts in the minds of the appellants, and to bring the real culprits to justice.", the court said.

The appeal was allowed accordingly.

Counsel For Petitioner(s) Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ali Qambar Zaidi, Adv. Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR

Counsel For Respondent(s) Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, AOR Mr. Dhananjay Kataria, Adv. Mr. K M Nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. B K Satija, Adv. Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra, Adv. Mr. Sharath Nambiar, Adv. Mr. Anukalp Jain, Adv. Mr. Anuj Srinivas Udupa, Adv. Mr. Aayush Saklani, Adv.

Case Title: AWUNGSHI CHIRMAYO AND ANR. VERSUS GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI AND OTHERS

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 263

Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment