Aanchal Bumb, Symbiosis Law School, Pune
“Criminal cases suffer because of lack of adequate investigation and lack of adequate material being produced. Though maintaining law & order is an important part of the police duty, the investigating arm cannot be compromised.” - Justice Sanjib Banerjee & Arijit Banerjee
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The problem with current investigation in 3 words is “time consuming, ineffective and unprofessional”.
It is the duty of the police to investigate and therefore each criminal case has an “investigating officer”. 23. The Supreme Court in State of Bihar v. J.A.C. Saldanha1 has held
“There is a clear-cut and well demarcated sphere of activity in the field of crime detection and crime punishment. Investigation of an offence is the field exclusively reserved for the executive through the police department the superintendence over which vests in the State Government. The executive which is charged with a duty to keep vigilance over law and order situation is obliged to prevent crime and if an offence is alleged to have been committed it is its bounded duty to investigate into the offence and bring the offender to book.”
The lacunae in investigation has been pointed out in various judgements and therefore in 2014, it was deemed appropriate by the Supreme Court in the case titled State Of Gujarat vs Kishanbhai,2 to direct forming of standing committees for ensure accountability of the investigation and public prosecutors. The Hon’ble Apex Court showed its displeasure with the investigation while acquitting the accused and held “We are trained to adjudicate without taking sides, and without being mindful of the consequences. We are required to adjudicate on the basis of well-drawn parameters. We have done all that. Despite thereof, we feel crestfallen, heartbroken and sorrowful. We could not serve the cause of justice, to an innocent child. ….. If he has escaped, despite being guilty, the investigating and the prosecution agencies must be deemed to have seriously messed it all up. And if the accused was wrongfully prosecuted, his suffering is unfathomable. Here also, the investigating and prosecuting agencies are blameworthy”. Such cases arises often when the guilty is let off because of improper investigation or an innocent suffers because of the same reason.
