PADMAKUMAR & ANR. vs THE STATE OF KERALA & ORS.

The daughter of the first petitioner, who is the wife of the second petitioner, was found missing on 8/4/2016, after she had left the house of the

first petitioner at 10.30 a.m. She had proceeded to her own house in a scooter. Since she did not reach home at 4.30 p.m.and her phone was

found switched off, a complaint was laid before the jurisdictional police station. Crime was registered as Crime No.743/2016 under section 57 of

the K.P.Act by the Kuruppampady police Police station. On 10/4/2016, the partly decomposed body of the wife of the second petitioner was

found floating in Periyar river. It was recovered and the post mortem was conducted. Her hand bag, mobile phone, and her scooter, which was

parked at a distant place, were also recovered. The post mortem report revealed that, the findings were consistent with the death due to drowning.

Investigation was conducted by the Dy.S.P., Narcotic Cell. It was revealed in the course of investigation that,the deceased had financial dealings

with one of her friend by name Avlin and her husband Rajesh. They had borrowed an amount of Rs. 9 Lakhs from the deceased. It was alleged

that,her gold ornaments and that of her relatives which were entrusted with her were got pledged by the deceased, without the knowledge of the

second petitioner. Since the amounts were not returned, she had got registered Crime No. 752/2016 of Kuruppampady Police station against

Avlin and her husband alleging offence punishable under section 420 IPC.

Investigation revealed that, the gold ornaments were pledged without her husband''s knowledge. It was revealed that, Avlin allegedly had

borrowed an amount of Rs. 9 Lakhs from the deceased and 32 sovereigns of gold ornaments belonging to the relatives of the deceased which

were entrusted with the deceased were also pledged by her to finance Alvin. She failed to return the amount. It was alleged that, on 8/4/2016, the

deceased had gone to a bank for taking gold ornaments which were found to be fake ornaments later. After investigation, police filed a report

before the Sub Divisional Magistrate concluding that the deceased had committed suicide. Ext.P8 is a copy of the final report filed by the S.I of

police, Kuruppampady before the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Muvattupuza

The petitioners herein submitted Ext.P5 complaint dated 4/6/2016 before the Chief Minister followed by Ext.P6 representation. It was alleged

that, the investigation was not proceeding on a proper line and there were several missing links. It was stated that, the police has not taken effective

steps to identify the exact cause and the circumstances that led to the death of the deceased and the persons who were responsible for her death.

It was also alleged that Avlin, her husband and few other persons have caused the death of the deceased. Hence, the petitioners sought for a

proper investigation by the competent authority.

The investigating agency has filed a detailed statement traversing the various allegations. The investigating officer had narrated the entire details

and ultimately concluded that the deceased had committed suicide out of her desperation due to her inability to get back the gold ornaments.

It is evident that, the deceased had committed suicide some time in between 11.5 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. It appears that, she had gone to the Axis

Bank. Thereafter, something unusual had happened which led to her death. The petitioners have referred to several instances casting cloud on the

circumstances that led to her death and also doubting the conclusions arrived at by the police. Those are mentioned in paragraph 10 of the writ

petition and in Ext.P5. A perusal of the case diary indicates that, though the investigating agency has investigated the case in detail, the specific

doubts and nine circumstances mentioned in paragraph 10 of the writ petition and in Ext.P5 have not been properly answered by the investigating

agency. Evidently, it is the duty of the investigating agency to conduct a full fledged investigation and to arrive at conclusions, which are sufficient to

allay doubts of the persons interested in the investigation. Having considered the above facts, I feel that investigation needs to address itself to the

doubts raised by the petitioners in the writ petition and in their representation .

Having considered the above, I am inclined to set aside Ext.P8 final report and to direct respondents 2 and 3 to issue direction to the 4th

respondent or another competent officer not below the rank of Dy.S.P. known for his investigative skills, to conduct further investigation in detail,.

The officer with whom investigation is so entrusted shall conduct detailed investigation and address itself to the various clouds raised by the

petitioners herein. The investigation shall be completed at the earliest and the final report shall be submitted.

In the result, the writ petition is allowed. Ext.P8 final report is set aside and respondents 2 and 3 are directed to entrust the further investigation

to the 4th respondent or to any other competent officer as above, to conduct investigation under the direct supervision of the 3rd respondent and

to complete the investigation. Respondents 2 and 3 shall pass appropriate orders within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy

of this judgment.