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Suneetha Narreddy & Another vs The Central Bureau of Investigation and Others

Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2022 INSC 1238Decided 29 Nov 2022
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 169 of 2022
M.R. Shah · M.M. Sundresh · B.V. Nagarathna · Shah

Background

The petitioners, the daughter and wife of late Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy (brother of a former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and uncle of the sitting Chief Minister), sought transfer of the CBI's trial in his murder case from the CBI Special Court, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, to a court outside the state, and also asked the Court to direct the CBI to complete its investigation in a time-bound manner. They alleged that a sitting Member of Parliament named as a suspect in the chargesheet had not been arrested despite his role in destroying evidence, that key witnesses had been intimidated or had died in mysterious circumstances, and that local influence was obstructing a fair investigation.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the petitioners' apprehension of an unfair trial and investigation was not imaginary but supported by concrete facts: witnesses under official protection, a witness who withdrew his statement after his suspension was revoked, and another key witness who died mysteriously after alleging CBI pressure. Applying the settled principle that a free and fair trial is essential to Article 21 and that "justice must not only be done but seen to be done," the Court allowed the writ petition and ordered the trial and the pending further investigation into the larger conspiracy and evidence destruction to be transferred out of Andhra Pradesh: specifically to the CBI Special Court at Hyderabad, rather than New Delhi, to avoid hardship to the large number of witnesses. The CBI was directed to complete the pending investigation independently and without bias.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can and will transfer a criminal trial or investigation away from its original venue when there is credible, fact-based evidence, not mere apprehension, of political influence, witness intimidation, or bias threatening a fair trial, because a free and fair criminal process is a constitutional right, not a discretionary courtesy.

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

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