1 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 Mgn IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 3142 OF 2009 Rajgangaram Buchayya Margam ...Petitioner Vs. The State of Maharashtara & Ors. ....Respondent Mr. V.G. Pradhan, Senior Advocate i/b. Mr. R.V. Gupta, for the Petitioner. Mrs. M.M. Deshmukh, APP for State. CORAM : B.H. MARLAPALLE & ANOOP V. MOHTA, JJ. DATED : 5TH AUGUST, 2010 P.C. We have heard at length Mr. Pradhan, learned Senior Counsel with Mr. R.V. Gupta, Advocate on record for the petitioner. Mrs. Deshmukh, learned APP appears for the respondents and has placed before us the investigation papers in ADR No.14/2009 registered with Vishranmwadi Police Station at Pune on 7th February, 2009. 2 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 2. In this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner prays for directions to respondent No.3, the Director General of Police, Maharashtra, to register an F.I.R., for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 and/or Section 120(B) of the I.P.C., against Supriya and some others for commission of the murder of Shridhar Rajgangaram Margam and for further directions to transfer the investigation to the State C.I.D., or Crime Branch of Pune or any other impartial investigating agency to investigate the offence of murder as the role of Officers of Vishramwadi Police Station is very doubtful. 3. The petitioner’s son Shridhar was married to Supriya who hails from Andhra Pradesh on 28th March, 2008 and the love marriage had taken place at Mumbai. On account of his employment, Shridhar shifted with his wife to Pune some time in July, 2008 and started residing in a rental house. At about 00.30 hours on 7th February 2009 Supriya woke up by fixing alarm as her mother was to arrive at 1.00 a.m., and noticed that Shridhar was not in the bed. She looked for him in the house and did not find and, therefore, she went to the balcony and noticed that he was hanging to the window grill by a nylon rope. She called the Control Room of Pune Police and in turn the Police from Vishramwadi Police Station 3 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 reached the place of offence i.e. Flat No.508, Sai Dham Apartment, Dhanori, Pune. The nylon rope was snapped and Shridhar was taken to Sassoon Hospital immediately and the doctor who examined him declared dead before he was brought to the hospital. Inquest was prepared at about 2.50 a.m., and the dead body was sent for postmortem which was completed around 4.10 a.m. The petitioner received a message on 7th February, 2009 at 7.30 p.m., while he was at Pandharpur from one of his relatives from Mumbai and reached Pune at 1.30 p.m. He received the body and the last rites were performed at Mumai on the next day. 4. He approached the Director General of Police, Police Head Quartes at Mumbai by his complaint dated 4th March, 2009 and stated that the death of his son was suspicious because his wife was not faithful to him and he strongly believed that Supriya was responsible for the death of his son along with his friends Mansingh, Varun and Harshid. He stated that it was a case of murder and, therefore, warranted investigation on registration of an F.I.R. 5. Before the petitioner filed this complaint, as noted earlier, ADR No.14 of 2009 was registered. We have perused the investigation papers. On 2nd July, 2009 the I.O., has already 4 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 submitted a summary report to the Learned Judicial Magistrate First Class of Competent jurisdiction at Pune and this petition has been filed on or about 25th November, 2009. We are informed that no order as yet been passed on the summary report. 6. Mr. Pradhan, the learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner has taken us through the petitioner’s complaint dated 4th March, 2009, the report submitted by R.S. Vaje, Police Constable, Buckle No. 1778 of Vishramwadi Police Station at Pune, Control Room Diary Extract dated 7th February, 2009, Inquest Panchanama dated 7th February, 2009, Postmortem report, statements of Supriya recorded on 20th February, 2009 and 30th March, 2009 and the letter dated 17th February, 2009 addressed by Dr. Ajay A. Taware from B.J. Medical College, Forensic Medicine Department addressed to the I.O. Mr. Pradhan pointed out that the circumstances raise a strong suspicion that Shridhar did not die a suicidal death. He further submitted that if the postmortem was conducted between 3.30 to 4.00 a.m., the report of Dr. Ajay A. Taware submitted to the I.O., indicated that Shridhar died between 6.30 to 9.30 p.m. on 6th February, 2009 and not at 00.30 hours on 7th February, 2009 as claimed by Supriya. As per Mr. Pradhan, this is another very strong ground of suspicion and not to go by the story given by Supriya to the Police during the 5 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 course of investigation. He also referred to the Police diary extract and the statement of Shri Vaje as well as the inquest panchanama and submitted that the circumstances do not tally. It was also urged by Mr. Pradhan that the Police ought to have registered an F.I.R., when it was a case of unnatural death and they could not have proceeded with the investigation only on the basis of the A.D.R. registered. Mr. Pradhan also referred to the scheme of Sections 174 and 175 of the Cr.P.C. and pointed out that the Police failed to follow the procedure laid down for investigation in the said sections and this is one more reason for a strong suspicion and to discard the story of suicidal death. 7. No doubt Shridhar died an unnatural death and having regard to the postmortem report there was no case of registration of an ADR. However, no fault could be found with the police when the record shows that on 7th February, 2009 they had recorded the statement of the petitioner in which he had purportedly given a clean chit to Supriya. In these circumstances there was no accused person or persons against whom the complaint may be registered. The statement of Supriya recorded on 20th February, 2009 indicates that the same was recorded at Pune at the Vishramwadi Police Station and on 7th February, 2009 her mother had arrived at Pune around 6 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 1.00 a.m. As per her statement in fact the petitioner also was to arrive in the early hours of 7th February, 2009. She had taken steps to intimate to the family at Mumbai in the early hours of 7th February, 2009 regarding the incident and she accompanied the dead body to Mumbai to perform the final rites. She stayed in the petitioner’s house for few days before she left for Pune. The investigation record also indicates that the Police had recorded the statements of Shri Anil Kisan Aaru, Smt. Shubhangi Vijay Kamble, Smt. Pushpa Satish Dube and Shri Chakrabahadur Thapa. Shri Chakrabahadur Thapa was the watchman at Saidham Society and other four persons were the immediate neighbours who were contacted by Supriya immediately after she saw her husband hanging in the balcony. Postmortem report gives the cause of death as Asphyxia due to hanging. The incident has taken place on 7th February, 2009 and the complaint to the D.G.P., by the petitioner is on 4th March, 2009 raising suspicion that it was Supriya who caused the death of Shridhar and he died a homicidal death. It is also pertinent to note that Supriya was pregnant of about eight weeks. 8. We have given our anxious considerations to the arguments of Mr. Pradhan, learned Senior Counsel and we have perused the investigation record which has resulted in filing of a summary report 7 Cri. W.P.3142/2009 by the I.O., and we are satisfied that there is no case to issue the directions as prayed for by the petitioner. However, the summary report is pending and the petitioner could be heard by the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class before any further order is passed. Undoubtedly, the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class has powers to direct further investigation under Section 173(8) of the Cr.P.C. if so satisfied and, therefore, it would not be appropriate for us to make any observations regarding the investigation so far made by the Vishramwadi Police Station. 9. Hence the petition is rejected summarily. (ANOOP V. MOHTA, J) (B.H. MARLAPALLE, J.)