CHANDIGARH: Shoddy investigation hindered the “smart” Chandigarh
Police from proving a staggering 4,257 cases in the courts from January 2015 to May 2018 in which all the accused were acquitted, a reply under the
RTI Act has revealed.
The department’s inefficiency did not end there. Police had sent only 201 out of the total cases to a review committee and took action against just four investigating officers during all these years for the lapses.
Information sought by TOI under the RTI Act pointed out that 1,619 cases had fallen flat in different courts in 2015. Out of them, police sent 181 cases to the review committee and acted against just four investigating officers. At the same time, police registered 5,194 FIRs under
Indian Penal Code (IPC), Excise and Gambling Act.
The next year, police faced humiliation in more than 1,200 cases. Courts acquitted accused in a total of 1,261 cases. Police department sent just 20 cases for review, but took no action against any investigating officers. In 2017, police failed to prove 1,056 cases in courts. Interestingly, the department did not send a single case for review and no action or probe was initiated against the investigating officers. On the other hand, 321 cases fell flat in courts this year so far, and, no case was sent to the review committee or action taken against any IO till date.
Legal experts said poor investigation and patchy evidence were the common factors behind the police failure. Sources said one officer was earlier deputed to record the statements of witnesses in courts, but now nobody bothered to be present in the court from police department at the time of recording of statements.
Ravinder Pandit, a lawyer, said, “Investigation is improper in many cases and not conducted as per norms. Witnesses too turn hostile as the IOs fail to handle them.”
“Everybody knows that DSP, SHO and other officers also involved in the cases and if the investigating officer failed to prove the case in court, others are equally responsible for the failure,” Pandit said.
Harish Bhardwaj, another lawyer, said it has been seen in many cases that the accused were acquitted because both parties reached a compromise and witnesses turned hostile. “Investigation done in a hasty manner is another reason,” he said.
Calling it a serious matter, former DSP Jagbir Singh said, “The standard and level of investigation is dropping. There is a shortage of good investigating officers in the police department. In many cases, head constableranked officers have been appointed as IOs.” “Action against investigating officers is only based on the verdict of court and if the reason behind the acquittal is lack of evidence, the IO is responsible,” he said. Bhardwaj, however, felt that it was not right to blame the IO for the case falling in court. “The IO cannot do anything if parties reach a compromise or witnesses turn hostile in court,” he said.
When TOI contacted Eish Singhal, officiating UT SSP, he refused to comment and said he would make a statement after “checking the facts”.
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