HC to examine police officers’ plea challenging cognizance in 2017 Gurugram school murder case

Nearly eight years after the murder of a seven-year-old boy inside a Gurugram school, two Haryana Police officers have approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking quashing of criminal proceedings initiated against them by a CBI court. Among other things, it was contended that the trial court had taken cognizance without mandatory sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

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Taking up the matter, Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul issued notice of motion to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the State of Haryana and other respondents. The case will now come up for further hearing on July 28.

The proceedings stem from the 2017 murder of a second-grade student found dead with his throat slit inside the school premises. The Haryana Police initially arrested Ashok Kumar, a school bus conductor, as the prime accused. However, widespread public outrage and media scrutiny prompted the Haryana government to hand over the investigation to the CBI.

After taking over, the CBI claimed that the murder was allegedly committed by juvenile student Bholu – an alias assigned by the trial court to protect the minor’s identity — of the same school. The premier investigation agency further concluded that Ashok Kumar had been falsely implicated by the SIT through fabricated evidence and coerced witness statements. The CBI subsequently sought sanction under Section 197 to prosecute four SIT members, citing their involvement in creating false documents and pressuring witnesses.

Appearing on their behalf, senior advocates Bipan Ghai and Vinod Ghai with Nikhil Ghai, Arnav Ghai, Akhil Godara and RS Bagga challenged order dated June 13 passed by CBI Special Judicial Magistrate at Panchkula.

They submitted that the trial court’s move amounted to a review of its own earlier order dated January 15, 2021, whereby cognizance had been declined explicitly due to the absence of sanction under Section 197 of CrPC. The counsel maintained that no fresh sanction had been procured in the interim, yet cognizance was taken merely on the strength of an application moved by the complainant.

“This amounts to an impermissible review of the earlier judicial order and renders the impugned order illegal and unsustainable,” counsel submitted.

The petitioners also contended that the allegations levelled against them related to acts performed in discharge of official duties. As such, protection under Section 197 CrPC squarely applied, thereby prohibiting courts from taking cognizance of offences allegedly committed by public servants without prior government sanction.

“It has still further been submitted that the impugned order suffers from a patent irregularity, in as much as the allegations made against the petitioner and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Haryana Police Service, relate to acts done in discharge of official duties. Therefore, the petitioner is entitled to the protection afforded under Section 197 CrPC, and cognizance could not have been taken in the absence of prior sanction,” it was added.