A single judge bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy in petition  Rhea Chakraborty vs. State of Bihar [Transfer Petition (Crl.) No.225 of 2020] according to petitioner the Mumbai Police is competent to undertake the investigation, even for the FIR lodged at Patna. transferred by invoking powers under Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Where Bench made the observation while directing the CBI to investigate into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Rajput, who resided within the Bandra Police Station jurisdiction, was reported as an unnatural death under section- 174 of CrPC.

The petitioner contends that the incidents alleged in the Complaint lodged by the father of the deceased, have taken place entirely within the jurisdiction of State of Maharashtra and therefore, the Complaint as received, should have been forwarded to the jurisdictional police station at Bandra, Mumbai for conducting the investigation.

The Complaint was registered at Patna only because of political pressure brought upon the Bihar Police authorities. the mere factum of Complainant being resident of Patna, does not confer jurisdiction on the Bihar police to conduct the investigation. Adverting to the subsequent transfer of the investigation to the CBI,

On behalf Bihar Government  counsel Mr. Maninder Singh raised the contention Complaint disclosed  a cognizable offence and therefore, it was incumbent for the Patna Police to register the FIR and proceed with the investigation. Since allegations of 341(Punishment for wrongful restraint) ,342 ( Punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (Theft in dwelling house), 406, 420 ( Cheating), 306 ( Abetment of suicide), 506( Criminal Intimidation) and 120B ( criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860criminal are alleged, the consequences of the offence are projected to be within the jurisdiction of the State of Bihar.

Mumbai Police was conducting the enquiry into the unnatural death of the actor u/s 174, 175 CrPC and such proceeding being limited to ascertaining the cause of death, does not empower Mumbai Police to undertake any investigation,

Ratio Decidendi

The court cited the case of Ram Chander Singh Sagar vs State of Tamil Nadu [1978 AIR 475, 1978 SCR (2) 604], where it was observed that the Code of Criminal Procedure held this Court with power under Section 406 to transfer a case or appeal from one high court or a court subordinate to one high court to another high court or to a court subordinate thereto. But, it does not clothe this court with the power to transfer investigations from one police station to another in the country simply because the first information or a remand report is forwarded to a court.

The court noted that scope of exercise of this power of transfer under Section 406 of Cr.PC is for securing the ends of justice and precedents suggest that transfer plea under Section 406 CrPC were granted in cases where the court believed that the trial may be prejudiced and fair and impartial proceedings cannot be carried on, if the trial continues.

Under Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the Supreme Court has the power to transfer cases and appeals either from one High Court to another, or from one subordinate court to another.

After considering a few judgments on the issue, the Court held,

"Having considered the contour of the power under section 406 CrPC, it must be concluded that only cases and appeals (not investigation) can be transferred."

 

In a 35-page judgment, the Single Judge Hrishikesh Roy gave finality to the questions posed by investigating authorities in two states,

 

“Having regard to the law enunciated by this Court as noted above, it must be held that the Patna police committed no illegality in registering the Complaint the Bihar Government was competent To give consent for entrustment of investigation to the CBI and as such the ongoing investigation by the CBI is held to be lawful,  As well the consent for the investigation by the CBI under Section 6 of the DSPE Act can be competently given by Maharashtra Government.”

 

Justice Hrishikesh Roy also made remarkable comment on late actor

“The actor Sushant Singh Rajput was a talented actor in the Mumbai film world and died well before his full potential could be realised. His family, friends and admirers are keenly waiting the outcome of the investigation so that all the speculations floating around can be put to rest. Therefore a fair, competent and impartial investigation is the need of the hour. The expected outcome then would be, a measure of justice for the Complainant, who lost his only son."

To Read the full judgement, Click Here


This News has been reported by Ms. Suheena Khan, who can be reached at suheenakhan123[at]gmail[dot]com

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