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Sujatha Ravi Kiran @ Sujatasahu v. State of Kerala & Ors.

Transfer Petition (Criminal) · Neutral citation not assigned (Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 351 of 2013)Decided 12 May 2016
Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 351 of 2013
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice R. Banumathi · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

The petitioner, married to a naval officer posted in Kochi, filed a complaint alleging cruelty, sexual abuse by fellow naval officers, and wife-swapping, leading to an FIR against her husband, in-laws and several naval officers. The accused naval officers then filed petitions in the Kerala High Court to quash the FIR, and the petitioner sought to transfer those quashing petitions to the Delhi High Court, as well as a separate writ petition asking that investigation be handed to the CBI instead of the state police, alleging a lackadaisical state investigation.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court declined to transfer the quashing petitions out of Kerala, holding that transfer is only warranted where there is a reasonable apprehension that justice will not be done, and mere apprehension that the accused (naval officers) were "influential" was not enough, especially since a special police investigation team had already been constituted. It also declined to hand the probe to the CBI, reiterating (citing the Constitution Bench ruling in State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights) that CBI transfer is an extraordinary step reserved for exceptional cases, and the state police's special team could adequately investigate. Instead, the Court directed Kerala's police to set up a fresh special investigation team headed by an officer of at least Deputy Inspector General rank, to be completed within three months, and asked the Kerala State Legal Services Authority to arrange senior counsel for the petitioner given her travel difficulties. The transfer petitions were dismissed, and the Court clarified it had expressed no opinion on the merits of the underlying allegations.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will not transfer a case or hand it to the CBI just because a complainant feels outnumbered or intimidated by influential accused persons: concrete evidence of likely unfairness is needed, and courts prefer to strengthen the existing investigation (e.g., by directing a senior, dedicated special investigation team) over displacing it entirely.

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

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