Investigation Transfer To CBI Cannot Be Ordered While Rejecting Bail Application: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, on Monday (October 21) held that Court cannot transfer the investigation to another agency while dealing with bail application filed under Section 439 of the CrPC.

“Suffice it to say that while rejecting the bail application file by the appellant the High Court ought not to have transferred investigation to CBI. The direction is virtually to make de novo investigation. Such a direction could not have been issued while rejecting the bail application filed by the appellant”, the Court observed.

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih set aside Rajasthan High Court's decision to transfer the investigation in a murder case to the CBI while rejecting the bail application of the accused.

The Rajasthan High Court had transferred the investigation from the state police and the CID to the CBI after observing that the investigation was tainted and had "pricked the judicial conscience." The High Court had rejected the bail plea while simultaneously ordering the transfer of the probe. Thus, the accused approached the Supreme Court.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi for the petitioner argued that the trial had already reached the halfway point when the High Court ordered a de novo investigation by the CBI. He said that the High Court took it upon itself to transfer the investigation. He further submitted that the petitioner had been in jail for more than a year.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati for the CBI said that the agency was not before the High Court, and had simply complied with the order. She stated that while the CBI had registered the case, it had not proceeded further.

The Supreme Court observed that the High Court, while rejecting the appellant's bail plea under Section 439 of the CrPC, should not have transferred the investigation to the CBI.

“While dismissing bail application can High Court send the case to CBI? What kind of order is this? This is an application under section 439 CrPC. In a bail application there can't be a transfer of investigation”, Justice Oka remarked during the hearing.

The Supreme Court also took note of the progress made in the trial. Out of the 67 witnesses cited, 14 had been examined, and the state had filed a counter affidavit. The bench stated that after reviewing the postmortem notes and the evidence provided by the medical officer, it was satisfied that the appellant had made a case for being granted bail. Additionally, the state's counter did not mention any antecedents of the appellant, the Court noted.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court set aside the impugned judgment rejecting the bail application and transferring the investigation to the CBI. The Court directed that the appellant be produced before the trial court within one week, and the trial court was directed to enlarge the appellant on bail, subject to appropriate terms and conditions until the conclusion of the trial.

Background

The Rajasthan High Court's order to transfer the investigation to the CBI was passed in a murder case involving the bajri (sand) mafia. The case involved the killing of a 22-year-old man from a marginalized Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) community, allegedly murdered at the behest of the sand mafia to "set an example" and protect its interests.

The single-judge bench of Justice Sameer Jain transferred the case to the CBI after observing multiple discrepancies in the investigation conducted by the state police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The High Court found that the investigation was "unfair, tainted, and incomplete," particularly in the medical reports, which had conflicting findings regarding the cause of death. The postmortem report indicated 14 injuries on the victim's body, including severe injuries to his neck, which were considered the primary cause of death. Despite these findings, the state medical experts attributed the death to intoxication and deemed the injuries "simple," leading the Court to question the investigation's integrity.

Further, the Court noted procedural lapses in the handling of the case under the SC/ST Act. The FIR was delayed by three days, and several key provisions of the Act were not followed, which hampered evidence collection. Despite allegations against individuals connected to the sand mafia, no charges were filed against them. The family of the deceased also alleged that they were pressured to enter into a compromise through threats or financial incentives.

In light of these factors, the Rajasthan High Court deemed it necessary to transfer the investigation to the CBI.

Case no. – SLP(Crl) No. 11876/2024

Case Title – Abhishek and Anr. v. State of Rajasthan and Ors.

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 830

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