Private funds for police probe? No way — SC

A Shillong (Meghalaya)-based company had lodged an FIR with the police alleging that a company from Mumbai had cheated it off Rs 9 crore. It later moved the Guwahati High Court alleging that police was not investigating the case speedily.

The High Court, on being told about the financial crunch faced by the state, said as the complainant had expressed its willingness to meet the expenses of the investigation, it could do so.

However, the person against whom such investigation was to be made, moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order saying such privately funded probe was tantamount to hired investigation and would mar the sanctity of the purpose of a statutory investigation.

The Bench comprising Justice Thomas, Justice R P Sethi and Justice S N Variava, while setting aside the High Court judgement, said such "a vitiated investigation is the precursor for miscarriage of justice."

Dictating the judgement for the Bench, Justice Thomas said "augmentation of fiscal resources of the state for meeting the expenses needed for such investigation is the lookout of the executive".

He said "failure to do it is no premise for directing a complainant to supply funds to the investigating officer. Such funding by interested private parties would vitiate the investigation contemplated in the criminal procedure code."

Justice Thomas said any attempt, to create a precedent permitting private parties to supply financial assistance to the police for conducting investigation, should be nipped in the bud itself.

"No such precedent can secure judicial imprimatur," the Court said and added "All complaints should be investigated with equal alacrity and with equal fairness irrespective of the Financial capacity of the person lodging the complaint."

It said the police investigation should necessarily be with the fund supplied by the state as "it may be possible for a rich complainant to supply any amount of fund to the police for conducting investigation into his complaint."

"But a poor man cannot afford to supply any financial assistance to the police," Justice Thomas said and added "It is an acknowledged reality that he who pays the piper calls the tune. So he would call the shots."

Justice Thomas said "In our constitutional scheme, the police and other statutory investigating agency cannot be allowed to be hackneyed by those who can afford it."