The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrars-General of all the High Courts to furnish the list of judicial orders passed by the High Court concerned in exercise of Section 482 Cr.PC and staying investigation of complaints or further proceedings in criminal cases.
A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly gave this direction after Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam, who was appointed amicus curiae to assist the court, submitted that in a large number of criminal cases, including heinous crimes like murder, rape, dacoity or kidnapping, investigation/further proceedings were being stayed by the High Courts under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. As a result, the police could not proceed with the investigation in many cases, he said.
The Bench was hearing a special leave petition filed by Imtiyaz Ahmad against an order passed by the Allahabad High Court staying investigation on a First Information Report registered in 2002. The petitioner submitted that the advanced stage of investigation had been hampered by the stay order passed by the High Court.
He said such an order was against the statutory provisions of Cr.PC as well as various pronouncements of the Supreme Court. He said the High Court order was liable to be set aside so that investigation could be completed to unearth the truth of the case.
Even as the petitioner’s counsel was making his submissions, the Bench sought the assistance of the Solicitor-General, who agreed with the concern expressed by the judges and said investigation, even in cases of murder and heinous crimes, had been stayed by the High Courts, affecting the probe.
The Bench therefore directed the High Courts to furnish a list of judicial orders category-wise indicating the nature of the offence and the related order passed in each case. The court posted the matter for further hearing on March 24.
