The Bombay High Court has pulled up the police department for filing incomplete charge sheets in criminal cases resulting in miscarriage of justice as bail is often denied to accused who continue to languish in prison for this lapse.
Important documents such as post-mortem reports are often found missing from the charge sheets, it noted and said observations made on the issue in the past by the Court appeared to have been ignored.
"This practice has been deprecated by the Court time and again. It appears that the Commissioner of Police has not taken cognisance of observations made by this Court earlier," said Justice Sadhna Jadhav in a recent order.
"The Commissioners of Police of Mumbai and Thane shall consider the said aspect seriously and make serious attempt to follow the statute ie Criminal Procedure Code, Criminal Manual etc in letter and spirit," the Judge maintained.
The Court was hearing the bail plea of an accused who has been in jail for more than a year after arrest in 2013, though a charge sheet had been filed in the trial court in a case where his wife allegedly committed suicide by hanging here.
The Court noted that after investigation was over in this case, the charge sheet was filed. However, post-mortem notes did not form part of the document.
"The date of the post-mortem notes (August 10, 2014) indicates that the Investigating Officer had not collected the report from medical officer at Borivali Hospital for one year. The post-mortem notes have been brought on record only after the Court asked for it," observed the Judge.
"Initially, it was submitted by prosecution before the trial Court that final cause of death has not been ascertained and therefore bail was not granted. The post-mortem notes indicate the probable cause of death is "evidence of ligature mark over neck". The "final cause of death is asphyxia due to hanging". This would make it clear that an incomplete charge sheet was filed," she said.
The woman committed suicide at her matrimonial home on September 12, 2013, just four weeks after marriage. On a complaint by her father, the husband was arrested and booked on abetment of suicide, dowry death and cruelty charges.
The HC, however, granted bail to the husband after it discovered that an incomplete charge sheet was filed in the trial court.
