HC raps Mumbai Police for ‘callous’ probe into hit-and-run that killed a 20-year-old man

The court observed that effective steps were taken by the police in their investigation only after the court cautioned them of possible repercussions. Terming the investigation ‘seriously depreciable,’ the bench said the police had fallen short of citizens’ expectations.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday called out the city police for their ‘grossly callous’ way of handling a hit-and-run case that claimed the life of a 20-year-old man in 2022, observing that they had taken three years to identify the accused.

Bombay High Court (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad, in an order passed on Wednesday, noted that the investigation had been dragging on for years and it gathered pace only after the court’s intervention. The court also observed that effective steps were taken by the police in their investigation only after the court cautioned them of possible repercussions. Terming the investigation ‘seriously depreciable,’ the bench said the police had fallen short of citizens’ expectations.

The incident dates back to August 17, 2022, when a speeding truck rammed into the 20-year-old man’s two-wheeler in Malad, causing his death. Babita Pawan Jha, the victim’s mother, filed a petition with the high court, expressing her dissatisfaction with the police’s investigation, after they issued a summary report in August 2023, stating that they could not identify the truck and the person who was driving when the accident occurred.

After repeated criticism from the court, the police, in August this year, arrested the truck driver and filed a chargesheet. Considering the time the police had taken to solve the case, the court said, “A young man lost his life in a hit-and-run accident in 2022 and it has taken three years for the police to trace the accused and file a chargesheet,” expressing discontent. The court also called out the investigating officer of the case and directed the director general of police to initiate a departmental inquiry against him for dereliction of duty. Additionally, the high court ordered the trial court to expedite proceedings and conclude the same within one year.