Cross cases filed in an incident should be probed by one investigating officer: Karnataka High Court

The court observed that a Karnataka police circular regarding this had been issued in 2013, and the law had already been laid down in such cases both by the High Court and the Supreme Court.

During the trial, the convict's lawyer argued in the high court that the complainant had actually approached the accused to ask for an injection, but the accused didn't have it in stock. (File photo)

The Karnataka High Court has recently observed that if parties register cases and counter-cases against each other with regard to the same matter, then both cases must be investigated by the same officer. A single judge bench consisting of Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order on August 21.

The counsel for the petitioners in this case stated that in an incident in January 2023, there were two complaints and material difference in the chargesheets against both parties. It was argued that both ought to be looked into by the same Investigating Officer (IO).

The court observed that a Karnataka police circular regarding this had been issued in 2013, and the law had already been laid down in such cases both by the High Court and the Supreme Court. The court stated, “Unfortunately, the circular has remained only on paper. It appears that it is issued only for the sake of its issuance and not its implementation. Ten years have passed by, this Court is coming across a plethora of cases where a case and a counter case is still being investigated by two different Investigating Officers. The circular cannot be kept in cold storage.”

The court further directed that either a fresh circular should be issued or amendments made to the Karnataka Police Manual to ensure that different IOs are not appointed. The bench added, “A circular shall ensue depicting that in the event different Investigating Officers investigate into a case and a counter case, those Investigating Officers would become answerable to a Departmental Action against those persons, who venture into appointing two Investigating Officers to investigate a case and a counter case.”

The matter concluded by obliterating the investigation till date in the case and ordering a fresh investigation to be concluded in three months.

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Karnataka High Court