Unresolved crimes tend to erode public trust: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said criminal investigation must be both fair and effective, as unresolved crimes tend to erode public trust in institutions which have been established for maintaining law and order.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Sudhanshu Dhulia ordered transfer of probe to the CBI into alleged murder of 25-year-old girl from Manipur, in Delhi in year 2013.

The court allowed a plea by the two cousins of the girl in order to remove any doubt from the minds of kith and kin and to bring real culprits to justice since an investigation by the Special Investigation Team ordered by it has remained ineffective during the pendency of the proceedings.

The appellants from Ukhrul in Manipur suspect the rape and murder of the girl.

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

"Apparently there seems to be no reason for a young girl of 25 years of age to commit suicide. Prima facie it does not seem to be a case of suicide. The crime scene shows that blood was spattered 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," the bench said.

The High Court on May 18, 2018 had dismissed a writ petition by the appellants for CBI probe.

The HC had said 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.

However, Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for Delhi police, submitted that he has no objection if the case is transferred to the CBI.

Setting aside the HC's order, the court said it would not comment on the fairness of the investigation.

"It is to observe that 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," the bench said.

The court transferred the probe from the SIT to the CBI and directed the central agency to submit its complete investigation report or charge sheet before the court concerned as expeditiously as possible.