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CBI probe should be ordered in ‘rare and exceptional cases’: HC
The high court was hearing a plea seeking a probe into an FIR registered by Bathinda police in a case of cheating by CBI or an independent agency.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be entrusted with a probe into a criminal case in “rare and exceptional cases” so as to not unnecessarily burden it with routine matters, as it dismissed a plea seeking an inquiry by the CBI into an FIR in a cheating case.
The court was hearing a plea from one Mandeep Singh, who had approached high court earlier this year with a plea that probe into an FIR registered by Bathinda police in a case of cheating be handed over to CBI or an independent agency.
“..issuance of directions for an investigation to be conducted by the CBI should be in rare and exceptional cases so as not to unnecessarily burden the premier investigating agency with routine matters unless there are grave allegations against senior officers of the state administration or in cases having inter-state ramifications etc., of course these situations being merely illustrative and not exhaustive,” the bench of justice JS Bedi asserted.
Anything extraordinary for this court to either entrust the investigation to the CBI or in the alternative to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter, is not made out, the court said, dismissing the plea.
The petitioner had claimed that neither the police were conducting the investigation in a fair and
impartial manner, nor has presented the challan in the case in question. The government upon notice had apprised the court that a cancellation report has been submitted and that petitioner could avail of other remedies in accordance with law.
The bench observed that there is no doubt that the high court has inherent powers to transfer the investigation from one agency to another, including to the CBI, if the facts so warrant, but the same should be done in some rare and exceptional case, otherwise the CBI would be flooded with a large number of cases making it impossible to properly investigate each of them.
Taking note of various judgments, the court further added that while it is open to the high court in appropriate cases to give directions for prompt and proper investigation, it should not issue directions to the investigating agency to submit a final report within a particular time frame, that would amount to unwarranted interference with the investigation.
“The contours of the investigation can also not be delineated by a court and no order for filing of a chargesheet or arrest of an accused can be issued,” the court further said.
In view of the state’s claims that a cancellation report has been submitted, the court said that the petitioner has the option of opposing the same and also has a right to file a private complaint.
