PRAVEEN KUMAR AGARWAL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RULE . Mr. Himanshu Patel, learned Additional Public Prosecutor waived service of notice of rule on behalf of the respondent. By this petition under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner (original first informant) seeks the following reliefs:

(2.) THE facts of the case as averred in the petition are that the petitioner filed a complaint before the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bharuch on 01.07.2013 at 12:30 p.m., which came to be registered as a first information report vide Bharuch "C" Division Police Station I - C.R. No. 108 of 2013. The concerned Police Officer of Bharuch "C" Division Police Station did not record the complaint when the first informant reached Bharuch on 30.06.2013 at about 10:00 p.m. On receipt of the information regarding the unnatural death of his daughter Shubra, the petitioner had informed the police authorities to wait for the postmortem till their arrival and accordingly, the police had not proceeded for the postmortem examination. The petitioner had serious doubts about the circumstances relating to the death of his daughter Shubra and on his arrival at Bharuch, he had gone to see the dead body in cold storage at Rangun Hospital at night on 30.06.2013. Thereafter, petitioner revisited the cold storage at Rangun Hospital on 01.07.2013 and took photographs of his daughter on his mobile. According to the petitioner, these photographs raised serious doubt and suspicion about the manner of the death of his daughter.

(3.) IT is the case of the petitioner that though the High Court had not entertained the regular bail application of accused Devesh who was in custody from 02.07.2013, the Investigating Officer, without waiting for the final report as to the cause of death from the Medical Officer who performed the postmortem and without receipt of the FSL report, submitted the charge -sheet on 05.08.2013 for the offence under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. Moreover, the transcript of WhatsApp conversation between Neha and Devesh on 29th June upto 9:24 p.m. and between Shubra and Devesh upto 8:08 p.m. have not been produced with the papers of the charge -sheet. Thus, on an incomplete investigation, the Investigating Officer submitted the charge -sheet on 05.08.2013 for the offence under section 306 IPC. It is the case of the petitioner that the fact that the death took place within four and half months of the married life and the details of conversation on WhatsApp prima facie suggesting cruelty meted out and disclosing the commission of offence under section 498A IPC, the charge -sheet merely reflected the offence under section 306 IPC, when the final cause of death was not prima facie available to the investigating agency. These aspects clearly revealed facts about the highly perfunctory and biased investigation having been carried out by the investigating agency only with a view to help the accused. The petitioner has narrated various infirmities in the investigation carried out by the investigating agency in the light of which, the present petition has been filed seeking the reliefs noted hereinabove.