The Madras High Court has recently observed that it is the right time to sensitize officials and eradicate corrupt officers and give adequate training to the officers who are not corrupt but they are incapable of investigation.
A single-judge bench of Justice P. Velmurugan closed the contempt petition filed against a police inspector alleging willful disobedience of court order.
The facts of the case is that the petitioner S. Vasanthi gave a complaint before the Inspector of Police, District Crime Branch, Namakkal District, against one Natesan and Rajavelu. On the basis of the complaint of the petitioner, the respondent police registered a case for the offence under Sections 147, 148, 447, 294(b), 120(b), 420, 467, 468, 471 and 506(ii) IPC. After completing the investigation, the respondent police closed the case as ‘Mistake of Fact’ on 10.02.2014 and did not serve Referred Charge Sheet (RCS) notice to the petitioner.
Since the petitioner did not receive the Referred Charge Sheet Notice from the respondent police, the High Court directed the respondent police to serve RCS notice forthwith to the petitioner and granted liberty to the petitioner to file a protest petition in the manner known to law. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a protest petition before the Judicial Magistrate, Tiruchengode.
The Magistrate, after hearing the arguments and considering the materials available on record, has given certain directions based on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Vishnu Kumar Tiwari -vs- State of Uttar Pradesh, reported in 2019(3) MLJ (Crl.) 406 SC. Challenging the same, the petitioner filed a Criminal Revision Petition before the High Court. The Court, after hearing the arguments, directed the respondent to conduct fresh investigation and also directed to expedite the investigation and file a chargesheet in accordance with law, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.
Subsequently, the respondent, who is an Investigating Officer, took up the investigation and completed the same. After completion of investigation, the respondent police closed the case as ‘mistake of fact’, on 10.02.2014 and served RCS notice on the same day and also filed a final report before the Judicial Magistrate, Tiruchengode. Therefore, the petitioner has filed the contempt petition that the respondent wilfully disobey the order of this dated 16.03.2021 .
On a careful perusal of the records, the High Court does not find that the respondent police wilfully disobeyed the order of the Court. Since the respondent police, after completion of investigation, has filed a charge sheet before the Jurisdictional Magistrate Court, the petitioner can file a protest petition before the Judicial Magistrate and proceed with the case in accordance with law, the Court held.
The Bench further held that though the High Court finds that the capacity of the investigating officer is not upto the mark and within her capacity she has investigated the case, the incapacity of the investigation officer cannot be treated as wilfully disobeying the order of this Court.
“Unfortunately, as on date, the police department is running with 90% corrupt officers as well as the officers not having adequate capacity to do the investigation and only 10% of the officers are honest and able officers. The 10% of officials alone cannot do all the investigation. Therefore, it is the right time to sensitize the officials and find out to eradicate corrupt officers and give adequate training to the officers who are not corrupt but are unable to investigate,” the Bench observed.
Further, the High Court said that on the date of preferring original complaint the alleged executor of the sale deed was very much alive, if the respondent police immediately examined the same the entire truth would have come out.
In view of the above, the Court finds that there is no wilful disobedience by the respondent police. Hence, the Bench closed the contempt petition.
“However, the petitioner is at liberty to take action against the respondent police for her incapacity, in the manner known to law and also work out her remedy before the Judicial Magistrate, by way of filing the protest petition and proceed with the case further in accordance with law,” the order reads.