Informant of a murder case sought a writ direction to expedite investigation and submission of the police report under Section 173 CrPC. The court disposed of the petition directing the police to complete the remaining investigation expeditiously and submit the report preferably within three months.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
W.P. (Cr.) No.289 of 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P. (Cr.) No.289 of 2022
------
Kranti Devi, wife of Late Ritesh Paswan, Aged 36 years, resident of village Duragada, P.O. Daihar, P.S. Chouparan, District- Hazaribag
… Petitioner
Versus
W.P. (Cr.) No.289 of 2022
For the Petitioner : Mr. Pratik Sen, Advocate For the State : Mr. Mithilesh Singh, GA-IV
------
P R E S E N T
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR CHOUDHARY
By the Court:- Heard the parties.
2
W.P. (Cr.) No.289 of 2022
relies upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Dilawar vs. State of Haryana & Another reported in 2018 16 SCC 521 and submits that there is a implicit right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India for speedy trial which in turn encompasses speedy investigation, inquiry, appeal, revision and retrial. Hence, it is submitted that the respondent Nos.2 and 3 be directed to expedite the investigation of the said Chouparan P.S. Case No.72 of 2021 and to submit a report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the said Chouparan P.S. Case No.72 of 2021 at an early date.
“2. This Court has held in Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P. [Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P., (2008) 2 SCC 409 : (2008) 1 SCC (Cri) 440 : AIR 2008 SC 907] , that if a person has a grievance that his FIR has not been registered by the police, or having been registered, proper investigation is not being done, then the remedy of the aggrieved person is not to go to the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, but to approach the Magistrate concerned under Section 156(3) CrPC. If such an application under Section 156(3) CrPC is made and the Magistrate is, prima facie, satisfied, he can direct the FIR to be registered, or if it has already been registered, he can direct proper investigation to be done which includes in his discretion, if he deems it necessary, recommending change of the investigating officer, so that a proper investigation is done in the matter. We have said this in Sakiri Vasu case [Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P., (2008) 2 SCC 409 : (2008) 1 SCC (Cri) 440 : AIR 2008 SC 907] because what we have found in this country is that the High Courts have been flooded with writ petitions praying for registration of the first information report or praying for a proper investigation.
3. We are of the opinion that if the High Courts entertain such writ petitions, then they will be flooded with such writ petitions and will not be able to do any other work except dealing with such writ petitions. Hence, we have held that the complainant must avail of his alternate remedy to approach the Magistrate concerned under Section 156(3) CrPC and if he does so, the Magistrate will ensure, if
3
W.P. (Cr.) No.289 of 2022
prima facie he is satisfied, registration of the first information report and also ensure a proper investigation in the matter, and he can also monitor the investigation.
4. In view of the settled position in Sakiri Vasu case [Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P., (2008) 2 SCC 409 : (2008) 1 SCC (Cri) 440 : AIR 2008 SC 907] , the impugned judgment [Hemant Yashwant Dhage v. S.T. Mohite, 2009 SCC OnLine Bom 2251] of the High Court cannot be sustained and is hereby set aside. The Magistrate concerned is directed to ensure proper investigation into the alleged offence under Section 156(3) CrPC and if he deems it necessary, he can also recommend to the SSP/SP concerned a change of the investigating officer, so that a proper investigation is done. The Magistrate can also monitor the investigation, though he cannot himself investigate (as investigation is the job of the police). Parties may produce any material they wish before the Magistrate concerned. The learned Magistrate shall be uninfluenced by any observation in the impugned order of the High Court.”
and submits that the petitioner has an alternative remedy of approaching
the Magistrate, hence, this Writ Petition, being without any merit be dismissed. 6. Having heard the rival submissions made at the Bar and after carefully going through the materials available in the record, perusal of the record reveals that in their counter-affidavit, the respondent Nos.1 to 3 have categorically stated that several witnesses have been examined in this case and they have supported the case of the prosecution. Considering the aforesaid facts, this Writ Petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondent Nos.2 and 3 to conduct the remaining part of the investigation of Chouparan P.S. Case No.72 of 2021 expeditiously and to submit a report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure at an early date preferably within three months from the date of receipt/production of this judgment.
(Anil Kumar Choudhary, J . )
High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi Dated the 03rd of January, 2024 AFR/ Animesh
4
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the High Court should direct expeditious investigation and filing of the final report under Section 173 CrPC in a pending murder case.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Dilawar vs. State of Haryana & AnotherRelied on¶4
2018 16 SCC 521 · Who else cites this
Sudhir Bhaskarrao Tambe vs. Hemant Yashwant Dhage & OthersRelied on¶5
(2016) 6 SCC 277 · Who else cites this
5 provisions across 5 enactments
Kranti Devi
The State of Jharkhand
Superintendent of Police, Hazaribag
Inspector cum Officer in Charge of Chouparan Police Station
Indal Bhokta
Niru Yadav
Anil Kumar Choudhary
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court