Show proof of lapse in probe, says HC on plea seeking transfer of case to CBI

Hearing a public interest litigation for transfer of the investigation in the suicide case of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today questioned the petitioner to show proof that the agencies were not conducting the probe in a free and fair manner.

“You have to point out some anomaly in the investigation, some lapse. The CBI is already quite overburdened. Let’s not casually pass orders for transfer of probe,” stated the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry.

The court observed that since the investigation into the Haryana cadre officer’s death was being conducted by the Chandigarh Police, there was no question of partiality.

“Had it been conducted by Haryana, that would have been different,” observed the Bench.

The counsels of the Haryana state and Chandigarh Police also opposed the PIL during the hearing. Deepak Balyan, Additional Advocate General representing the state of Haryana, said the petitioner was a resident of Punjab.

The court has adjourned the matter as it granted the petitioner’s counsel more time to prepare his case.

The PIL has been filed by Navneet Kumar, a resident of Ludhiana, under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India. He stated that the death of such a high-ranking public servant under mysterious and disturbing circumstances sent shockwaves across the nation, eroding public confidence in the internal accountability mechanisms of the civil services.

The recovery of multiple suicide notes, one allegedly written nearly a month before the incident, explicitly naming eight IPS and two IAS officers as responsible for his death, pointed to a grave possibility of systemic abetment, caste-based persecution and criminal conspiracy within the very institutional framework he served.

The petitioner, who is president of Hope Welfare Society, an NGO, invoked the writ jurisdiction of the court to protect the integrity of the Indian Police Service, to safeguard the rule of law and to ensure that justice is done free from local influence or institutional bias.

He said the Chandigarh Police, which were presently investigating the matter, had territorial, institutional and administrative limitations, as the deceased was a Haryana-cadre officer and the UT Administration was closely intertwined with both Haryana and Central establishments. These conflicts of interest rendered the ongoing investigation neither impartial nor effective, claimed the petitioner while seeking the transfer of investigation to the CBI.

The petitioner has also submitted a representation to the respondent-Central Government. He also prayed for immediate directions to preserve all material evidence, including the suicide notes, call data records, CCTV footage and digital communications, and to restrain the Chandigarh Police from continuing any further investigation during the pendency of his petition.