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Monday, October 15, 2012

It will be for the concerned individuals who face such criminal proceedings to work out their remedy in the manner known to law. Even if such individuals are not in a position to seek for any appropriate legal assistance on their own, having regard to the set up of Legal Service Authority and its effective functioning, in the nook and corner of the country, there should be no dearth of legal assistance for those affected persons to seek for such legal aid free of cost. Therefore, when there is no dearth for seeking legal assistance free of cost, on that score as well it cannot be held that the concerned individuals will be left with no remedy. In fact, it is now well known that on mere asking of the concerned presiding officer, those involved in such criminal proceedings are being offered free legal aid of high calibre in order to ensure that no innocent person is being punished for want of proper legal assistance.


                                                                  Reportable
                        IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
                       CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

                     WRIT PETITION (CRL.) NO. 19 OF 2012

    Gulzar Ahmed Azmi & Anr.                         …Petitioners


                                   VERSUS

    Union of India & Ors.                                 …Respondents


                                  O R D E R




Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, J.


   1. The petitioners have preferred this writ  petition  under  Article  32
      read with Article 21 of the Constitution ostensibly in public interest
      in which the petitioners pray for a Writ of Mandamus for  constitution
      of a Committee to make further investigation of all  the  bomb  blasts
      cases which have taken place since 2002.



   2. When we examine the relief prayed for by the petitioners, we find that
      there are as many as six substantive prayers made  by  them  including
      constitution of a Committee headed by a retired Judge of  the  Supreme
      Court along with team  of  competent  officers  and  experts  to  make
      further investigation of all bomb blasts cases which have taken  place
      since 2002 onwards. The prayer specifically mentions a list by way  of
      Annexure P-45 wherein the details have  been  mentioned  in  order  to
      monitor the investigation to be ordered while granting any  relief  in
      the writ petition.



   3. The further prayer in the writ petition is  for  a  direction  to  the
      respondents to initiate criminal or departmental  action  against  the
      erring police officers for having implicated alleged  innocent  Muslim
      boys by fabricating false evidence.



   4. The third prayer in the writ  petition  is  for  a  direction  to  the
      respondents to initiate criminal or departmental  action  against  the
      officers of Central and State  Intelligence  Agencies,  who  furnished
      wrong inputs to the State  Police  and  thereby  pressurised  them  to
      arrest innocent Muslim boys.

   5. In the fourth prayer the petitioners prayed for  a  direction  to  the
      respondents to make the contents of the laptops,  recovered  from  Lt.
      Col. Purohit and Mahant Dayanand Pandey, public and thereafter make an
      inquiry for taking action against the culprits who  were  involved  in
      anti-national terror activities.



   6. In the fifth prayer they seek for a direction to the first  respondent
      for taking action against communal organisations  like  RSS,  VHP  and
      their allied forums who alleged to have indulged in bomb blasts  cases
      and other terror related activities. In the last prayer they seek  for
      a direction to release on bail the detenus  arrested  in  bomb  blasts
      cases referred to in Annexure P-45 against whom there is no  clinching
      or conclusive evidence.



   7. To sum-up the grievance of  the  petitioners,  as  per  the  averments
      contained  in the petition,  is  that  the  real  culprits  are  being
      shielded from taking any action against them,  while  innocent  Muslim
      boys have been roped in  various  bomb  blasts  cases  throughout  the
      country since the year 2002 and in order to unearth the  said  factor,
      this  Court  should  direct  the  first  respondent  to  constitute  a
      Committee headed by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court who should be
      assisted with the team  of  officers  having  competent  investigation
      skills along with other experts.



   8. At the very outset, we wish  to  state  that  if  the  prayer  of  the
      petitioners were to be accepted for whatever  grounds  stated  in  the
      petition and any such Committee is directed  to  be  constituted  that
      will only result in making a roving inquiry into the various  criminal
      proceedings so far lodged connected with cases of bomb blasts all over
      the country. We are not, therefore, inclined  to  countenance  such  a
      wide prayer asked for in this writ petition.



   9. Since criminal cases registered in connection with  various  incidents
      are either pending trial before the competent jurisdictional courts or
      being investigated by the jurisdictional police, it  is  premature  to
      say whether any and if so which of the accused is innocent or has been
      falsely implicated.  If anyone is falsely roped in any offence  either
      under the provisions of Indian Penal Code or under any  other  special
      enactments, by way of criminal proceeding, it  is  needless  to  state
      that there are enough safeguards provided under the various  laws  and
      under the criminal law jurisprudence, to protect the interest  of  any
      such person claiming himself to be innocent and demonstrate before the
      concerned Fora that he has been falsely  implicated  in  any  offence.
      Therefore, it will be for the concerned individual  against  whom  any
      criminal proceeding is lodged to work out his remedy. For instance, if
      in any particular criminal  case,  one  wishes  to  seek  for  further
      investigation under Section 173 (8) of the Cr.P.C. the same can always
      be effected even after the filing of the final report.  Such  a  power
      existing with  the  Investigating  Officer,  having  been  statutorily
      provided, it will be a futile exercise if such a statutory exercise is
      to be entrusted with a supernumerary body created under the head of  a
      retired Judge of the Supreme Court along with other team  of  officers
      and experts. When the time tested Criminal Procedure  Code  and  other
      statutory provisions are working in the field providing for such  well
      laid down procedure to be followed in the matter  of  regulating  such
      criminal proceedings, the granting of the  petitioners’  prayer  would
      amount to creating a parallel body without any statutory sanction  and
      to function only under some directions of this Court  which  would  be
      lacking in very many procedural details and will ultimately result  in
      utter chaos and confusion in dealing  with  the  criminal  proceedings
      which have already been lodged and progressing before various criminal
      courts.



  10. We are not, therefore, inclined to consider such a wide prayer applied
      for by the petitioners for constitution of a  special  Committee.  The
      other directions prayed for by the petitioners will also  only  result
      in interfering with the  already  pending  proceedings  in  which  the
      concerned individuals who have been arrayed as  accused  or  otherwise
      can seek for appropriate relief either for  further  investigation  or
      for their discharge or in the event of any other adverse orders passed
      by the concerned Court, approach the  higher  fora  for  redressal  of
      their grievances. There  are  various  levels  of  Appellate  Fora  to
      examine the manner in which the proceedings are being  pursued  before
      the Courts wherein such criminal proceedings have already been  lodged
      or in the event of any adverse orders having been passed, examine  the
      correctness of such orders in order to grant appropriate relief or  to
      confirm such decisions taken by the lower fora.



  11. It will be for  the  concerned  individuals  who  face  such  criminal
      proceedings to work out their remedy in the manner known to law.  Even
      if such individuals are not in a position to seek for any  appropriate
      legal assistance on their own, having regard to the set  up  of  Legal
      Service Authority and its  effective  functioning,  in  the  nook  and
      corner of the country, there should be no dearth of  legal  assistance
      for those affected persons to seek for such legal aid  free  of  cost.
      Therefore, when there is no dearth for seeking legal  assistance  free
      of cost, on that score as well it cannot be held  that  the  concerned
      individuals will be left with no remedy. In fact, it is now well known
      that on mere asking of the concerned presiding officer, those involved
      in such criminal proceedings are being offered free legal aid of  high
      calibre in order to ensure that no innocent person is  being  punished
      for want of proper legal assistance.

  12. Having regard to the above factors,  we  do  not  find  any  scope  to
      entertain this writ petition and  leave  it  open  for  the  concerned
      parties against whom any criminal proceeding is  lodged  to  work  out
      their remedies in the appropriate manner before the appropriate  forum
      in accordance with law. The  writ  petition  fails  and  the  same  is
      dismissed.




                                                     …..……….……………………….....J.
                                                               [T.S. Thakur]


                                                         ……………………………………………J.
                              [Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla]


 New Delhi;
 October 11, 2012