‘Criminal investigation must be fair’, SC directs CBI probe into death of Manipuri woman in 2013

The Supreme Court has dismissed a Delhi High Court order and directed a CBI probe into the death of a 25-year-old Manipuri woman who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her rented house in south Delhi in 2013. The SC said that prima facie it does not seem to be a case of suicide. It appears to be a homicidal death and therefore the culprits must be apprehended, the top court said.

New Delhi:Over 10 years after a 25-year-old Manipuri woman was found dead in mysterious circumstances in her rented accommodation in Delhi, the Supreme Court has transferred the investigation to the CBI.

Initially, the police had registered the case of abetment to suicide – though here was blood splattered all over the room and the face of the deceased was smashed -- which was later converted to a murder case.

The relatives of the deceased ran from pillar to post to bring real culprits to justice, however they met with ineffective investigation. The apex court stressed that criminal investigation must be both fair and effective, and there is a need for courts to be alive to genuine grievances brought before it by ordinary citizens.

A bench comprising justices J K Maheshwari and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that apparently there seems to be no reason for a young girl of 25 years of age to commit suicide and prima facie it does not seem to be a case of suicide. “The crime scene shows that blood was splattered on the floor and the bed sheet was completely drenched in blood. It appears to be a homicidal death and therefore the culprits must be apprehended”, said the bench, in its judgment delivered on March 22.

The bench said the present appellants, who are close relatives of the deceased and are residents of Manipur, have always claimed that it is a case of rape and murder, and the police is trying to shield the accused. The bench said the deceased hailed from a “Ukhrul” district Manipur, which is far away from Delhi. The kith and kin of the deceased, who are before this court are only praying for an effective investigation so that the culprits can be apprehended and brought to justice, noted the bench. Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj said he has no objection, if the probe is transferred to the CBI.

Delhi police had initially filed an FIR for abetment to suicide on May 31, 2013 three days after the girl's body was found at her rented accommodation in Delhi's Chirag Dilli area. Two post mortems conducted on the body did not elaborate the exact cause of death though it recorded 11 different injuries.

The apex court stressed that there is need for courts to be alive to genuine grievances brought before it by ordinary citizens and unresolved crimes tend to erode public trust in institutions which have been established for maintaining law and order.

“Criminal investigation must be both fair and effective. We say nothing on the fairness of the investigation appears to us, but the fact that it has been ineffective is self evident”, said the bench. It added that the kith and kin of the deceased who live far away in Manipur have a real logistical problem while approaching authorities in Delhi, yet they have their hope alive, and have shown trust and confidence in this system.

The bench said it is of the considered view that this case needs to be handed over to CBI, for a proper investigation and also to remove any doubts in the minds of the appellants, and to bring the real culprits to justice.

The appellants moved the apex court against a Delhi High Court order passed on May 18, 2018, which dismissed their plea for CBI probe.

The high court had said that the polygraph test conducted on the suspects landlord Raj Kumar and his brother-in-law Amit Sharma on December 26, 2013, could not lead to any conclusions on their involvement. Secondly, the DNA of the semen samples recovered from the undergarment of the deceased did not match with the DNA samples of the accused and thirdly, the boyfriend of the deceased had not joined investigation, he was absconding and could not be traced.

Fourthly, despite the post mortem conducted on the deceased, there was no conclusive cause of death which could be ascertained. The apex court set aside the high court order and transferred the probe from the SIT to the CBI. The apex court directed the CBI to submit its complete investigation report or charge sheet before the court concerned as expeditiously as possible.

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