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Awungshi Chirmayo & Anr. vs. Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 249Decided 22 Mar 2024
Not available
Justice J.K. Maheshwari · Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia

Background

A 25-year-old woman from Manipur, working at a Delhi call centre, was found dead in her rented room in 2013 under suspicious circumstances: her face was mutilated and blood was spattered across the room, yet two post-mortem examinations could not conclusively determine the cause of death. Her cousins (the appellants) alleged rape and murder and repeatedly sought a CBI investigation, first through a Delhi High Court writ petition (dismissed) and then through this appeal, after years of inconclusive investigation by Delhi Police and later a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that despite years of investigation, no conclusive result had been reached, and it seemed implausible that a young woman with no apparent reason to die by suicide would have done so, given the violent state of the crime scene. Relying on precedents including State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights and Bharati Tamang v. Union of India, the Court held that although the power to transfer investigation to the CBI must be used sparingly, it is justified here because the investigation had been ineffective and the victim's family, based far away in Manipur, deserved confidence that the case would be pursued properly. The Court set aside the High Court's order, allowed the appeal, and directed the CBI to take over the investigation from the SIT.

Lesson Learnt

Constitutional courts can transfer a stalled or ineffective police investigation to the CBI, not routinely, but where years of inconclusive investigation have eroded public confidence and complete justice demands it, even without proof of bias or wrongdoing by the original investigators.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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