Gurugram school murder: HC notice to Haryana govt, CBI on plea against denial of sanction to prosecute 4 cops

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday issued notice to the Haryana government and the CBI on a plea challenging the decision not to grant sanction to prosecute four cops who had falsely framed a bus conductor in the sensational murder cases of seven-year-old boy in a school in Gurugram in 2017.
Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan of the HC issued the notice after taking cognizance of a petition filed by the deceased boy’s father seeking prosecution of these cops who had falsely propounded the theory of his son’s sexual exploitation that caused dishonour and disrespect to the victim and his family.
The petitioner has also argued that the right to rest in peace of the deceased victim has been grossly violated by cops by making all attempts ensuring the main accused to get scot free and to falsely implicate an innocent person.
The CBI had filed supplementary charge sheet before a special CBI court in Panchkula on January 6 under section 120B, 166A, 167, 330 and 506 of the IPC for false and fabrication charges against four cops - Narinder Singh Khatana, Birem Singh, Shamsher Singh, Subhash Chand of the Haryana Police.
However, Haryana’s home department refused the CBI to grant prosecution sanction on February 19 in the case.
Aggrieved from this, the deceased boy’s father has now sought quashing of the order dated February 19 whereby the sanction of prosecution sought by CBI under section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) in respect of four cops for their prosecution in CBI case was declined by Haryana home secretary.
According to the petitioner, the home department had passed the order in a mechanical manner and without appreciating the facts and culpability of crime attributable to cops more particularly without passing a reasoned order negating the culpability and criminality committed by all accused persons and also bypassing the facts, circumstances, evidences, witnesses and documents on record as submitted in the charges sheet by CBI.
It has also been argued that the charge sheet filed by CBI prima facie substantiate the involvement of cops yet these material and clinching evidences being completely ignored by the home department giving an impression as if they were sitting with a pre-notion and preconceived mind that irrespective of the material and substance the sanction at any cost has to be denied.
On September 8, 2017, the body of seven-year-old "Prince" (name given by the Supreme Court to the victim to conceal his identity) was found inside the toilet of the school, with his throat slit.
Initially the matter was investigated by the Haryana Police, which had booked a bus conductor of the school for killing the Class-II student.
However, later the case was referred to the CBI for probe. The premier agency had arrested "Bholu", a student of Class XI of the same school for killing Prince.