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Santosh s/o Dwarkadas Fafat v. The State of Maharashtra

Criminal Appeal · 2017 INSC 1027Decided 10 Oct 2017
Criminal Appeal No. 1759 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The appellant was one of several accused in a case alleging misappropriation of food-grains meant for public distribution, registered under the Indian Penal Code and the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 in Maharashtra. His application for anticipatory bail was rejected by the trial court and the High Court, though interim protection was initially granted after he deposited the disputed amount of roughly Rs. 45 lakh. Protection was later modified to allow his arrest after the investigating officer complained he was not cooperating by failing to confess to purchasing the stolen grain, even though a co-accused had already given a statement implicating him.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the investigating officer's real complaint was that the appellant had refused to confess, not that he was genuinely obstructing the investigation. The Court reasoned that the right against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) of the Constitution is a vital constitutional safeguard, and a person's mere refusal to confess cannot, by itself, be treated as "non-cooperation" justifying continued custodial pressure. At the same time, the Court left open the possibility that if there was genuine, provable non-cooperation going forward, the State could approach the local Sessions Court for cancellation of bail. The appeal was disposed of on this basis, allowing the appellant to remain on bail subject to that safeguard.

Lesson Learnt

An accused person's refusal to confess to a crime is not, by itself, evidence of "non-cooperation" with an investigation: the constitutional right to remain silent and not incriminate oneself cannot be used as a backdoor ground to cancel bail or compel confession.

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

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