Holding

The Supreme Court held that the police investigation was deficient and ordered the case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation for completion within three months, without adjudicating the question of suicide or murder.

Summary

Bhagwant Singh, a senior Indian Revenue Service officer, filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution alleging that his daughter Gurinder Kaur was murdered in a dowry‑related dispute and that the Delhi police investigation was irregular, delayed and failed to collect crucial evidence. The Supreme Court examined the conduct of the police under Sections 174, 175 and 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and found the investigation desultory, with missed statements, improper handling of forensic material and lax case‑diary maintenance. The Court held that it could not decide whether the death was suicide or homicide, as that is for a criminal trial, but it could intervene to ensure a proper investigation. Consequently, the Court ordered the case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation and directed the CBI to complete the investigation within three months, disposing of the writ petition with those directions.

Issues considered

The adequacy and legality of the police investigation under Sections 174, 175 and 173(2) of the CrPC.
Whether a writ petition under Article 32 can be entertained to compel a proper investigation in a death case.
Whether the Supreme Court can direct the transfer of the investigation to the CBI without deciding the nature of death (suicide vs murder).

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 173(2), s. 174, s. 175
Constitution of Indias. Article 32
Coroners Act, 1871
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961s. 4
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 306, s. 309

Subjects

dowry deathpolice investigationArticle 32Criminal Procedure CodeCBIsuicide vs murdercase diaryforensic evidenceCoroners' Act

Judgment

109
'Y.·
BHAGWANT SINGH
A
v.
COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, DELHI

May6, 1983
B
[P. N. BHAGWAT! AND R. S. PATHAK, JJ.]

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 11 of 1974), Section 174-Police
enquiry, investigation and_report on receipt of inforniation ihat a person has
commitied suicide and inquest by the Magistrate-Court's poWer lo exandne,
before the commencement of a trial, whether the police authorities conducted
themselves as law and justice required of them, as a petltion under -Article 32 of
c
the Constitution--,.Probative value of investigation by the Police, including· re·
covery of material objects to connect the crime, recording of ·Statements of all
important witnesses etc. etc. explained, and suggestions for extension of Coroners' ...
Act, 1871 i<> all Siates made-Constitution of India, .Article 32, Code of Crintina/
Procedure, 1973, Sections l'.3(2), 174 & 175.
D
The petitioner Bhagwant Singh a n1ember of the Indian ReYenue Service
applied to the CQurt for intervention and necessary relief in the matter of the
death of his married daughter Gurinder Kaur alieging thilt -due to ·se\'eral
circumstances he was convinced that his daughter was murdered in the· house
of her parent's-in-law by burning her and that, the pO!ice' investigation \Vas
improper an.d irregular and ineffective.
E
AcCording to the petitioner : , (i) that he and his daughter were opposed
to the evils of ihe dowry system and t~erefore, with a stipulation that no 4owry ·
should be demanded at the time. of the marriage he gave his daughter to. one
Amarjit Sirigh, son of -his colleague Kartar Singh Sawhney and a· friend for
·over thirty years; (ii) that after the marriage his daughter came to be ill-treated
by her mother-in-law hinting that gifts and jewellery were expected from her
F
parents and srich oppressive tensions at home resulted in the mis,carriage of.a
child, from which time. onwards the n1other~in~law taunted her saying that
unless she observed the family tradition of presenting a necklace to her 111otlit:r-
in-law she would remain without a child; (iii) that sometime later, the 'son-in-
law got it _conveyed to Bhagwant Si_ngh that he required Rs. 50,000 for financing
his business which was not ac~eded to; (iv) that on Aµgust 9, 1980 i.e. ten G
months ~fter the marriage his da,ughter ,was found dead qf_ third Oegree burns
from a kerosene fire in the bat~ rooI_n ar:id was admitted in the Ram Manohar
Lohia Hospital by her father~in-law at 12.15 P.M.; (v) that the police did not
get the statement of his daughter .recorded though s.he was able to speak;
(vi)" that the police added section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act to the charge
on November 29, 1980 and only on May 15, 1981 a reference to section 306 H
IPC was included in the F.LR.; and (vii) that the police failed to exan1ine
material witnesses and recover material objects and proceeded in a leisurely
manner. t
ho SUPREME COURT REPORTS (198313 s.c.11..
The Court admitted the writ petition and called for full details from the -x·
;Inspector General of Police about the .irivestigation of the case and the circums·
lances leading to the non-filing of the report under section 173(2) of the Code ·
of Criminal Procedure.

Disposing of the Writ Petition and directing the C.B.I. to complete the
investigation within three months, the Court

HELD: 1:1 Disappointing as it may seem to those who have desired the
institution of criminal action on the basis that a crime has been committed,
the material on record does not, however, justify an order to that effect by the
Supren1e, Court. The investigation of the case now stands transferred to
the C.B.I. at the instance of the petitioner. [123_ E-F]

c' 1:2. It is not possible, in this case, nor indeed would it be right for the
Court to do so, to enter into the question whether Gurinder Kaur committed
suicide or was murdered. That ls a matter which is properly involved in the
trial of a criminal charge by a court possessing jurisdiction·. [114 G~H]

2:1. The poli.ce did not display the· promptitude and efficiency which
the investigatic;>n of the case required. There is much that calls for comment~
Though the CD entry n1ade on August 9, 1980 indicates the visit ol' a sub-ins-
Pector to the place of occurrence and seizure of several things, the blanket with
which the fire is said to have been put out has not been seized. ·On the next
day when the experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory visited the
place for getting any chance prints, the mirror was not taken P•Jssessio~ of,
nor was the report obtained for full five weCks. In cases such as this, it would
E have been of the essence that on visiting the place of occurrence :immediately
on information of the incident, the mirror should have been taken into·
Possession by the police and handed ~ver forthwith to the Central Forensic
Science Laboratory experts for an urgent .report in regatd to thC existence and
identification of the prints. Delay in ~uch a matter is vit81 and can often
result in the loss of valuable clues. Since Ramu the servant was reported to
have helped in forcing open the door of the bathroom, he was a rilat•~rial witness
F for deposing whether the bathroom -was latched from inside and- h:id to be ·
forced open or was in fact. latched from outside. It was only a5 late·. as January
25, 1981, according to entry CD 13 of that date, that Ramu Was examined by
the Station House Officer. Strangely.he was allowed to leave the town and go
to his village before he could be fully exan1ined by the police. 'fhert is no
evidence that the police expressed any anxiety to put him through a thorough·
G examination immediately or shortly after the date of the ~ccurrenc•' or at least
before Shri Karta'"r Sirigh's family allowed Ramu to leave the town for his
village. The fact that the investigation by the Delhi Police does not inspire
confidence is clear from the m·e1norandum dated May 12, 1981 issued by the
Crime Braqch to the Deputy Commissioner of POlice to the effect that the
statement of several material witnes~s had not been recorded.
H [118 B·H, 119 A·B, 120 BJ

2:2 The investigation by the polic~ following the occurrence ~as desul-
tory and lackadaisical, and showed want.of ap,preCiation of the emc1 rsen~ ne_ed
BHAGWANT SINGH V. COMMR, OF POLICE _ Ill

to get at th~ truth of the case. Whatever may be the reason, there i• no doubt
th,at the_ investigat_ion of the case sQffered frOm casualness, lack of incisivene~s A
~nd unreasonable dilatotjQess, and this is demonstrated most effectively by the
manner in which the case was passel! from one police official to another, being
entrustell successively to sub-Inspectoro and Inspectors each of whom already
had his hands full with the investigation of several other cases. There is the
admission that these police officers were not only preoccupied with numero'Us
other cases in their hands but they were officers who were also required to look
after the day to day work of the police station. It was only when on the re· B
pealed and insistent petitions of Shri Bhagwant Singh the case passed into the
control of the Crime Branch that the investigation showed some signs of speed~
ing up. Secondly, the haphazard ni.aintenance of a po.lice case diary
not only does no credit to those responsible for maintaning it but_ defeats the
very purpose for which it is required to be maintained. It is of the utmost
importance that the entries in a police Case Diary should be made with prompt-
ness, in sufficient detail, mentioning all significant facts, in careful chronological
c
order and with complete objectivity. [120 E·H, 121 A·B]

2·3 Jn a case such as this, the death of a young wife must be attributed
either t~ the commission of a crime or to the fact that. mentally tortured by the
suffocating circumstances surrounding her, she conunittcd suicide: Young
Women of education, intelligence and character do not set fire to thcm~lves D
unless provoked and compelled to that desperate step by · the intolerance ·of

--
their misery. Such cases evidence a deep·seated malady in- our social order.·
The greed for dowry. and indeed the dowry system as an institution, calls for
the severest condemnation. It is evident that legislative measures such as the
Dowry Prohibition Act have not met with the success for which they were
- 'I" designed. Perhaps, legislation in itself cannot succeed in stampin8 out such, an E
' evil and the sol6tion must ultimately be found in the conscience and will of the
s~c{at community and in its active expression through legal and constitution
methods. [121 C-E]

3. The Court suggested tho following-
F
(i) Where the death in such cases is due to a crime, the perpetrators of
the crime not infrequently escape from the nemesis of the Jaw because of inade-
quate police investigation. It would be of considerable assistance if an appro-
priately high priority was given to th" expeditious invcstia,ation of such cases,
if a special magisterial machinery was created for the purpose of the prompt
investigation .of such incidents. and tfficient invcsti,at_ivc techniques and pro-
cedures were adopted taking into account the peculiar features of such cases; G
[121 P-G]

(ii) A female police officer of sufficJent rank and status in the Police
force should be asso.::iatcd wjth the investigation from its ~y inception. There
arc evident advantages in that. In a case· where a wife dies in suspicious cir- ff
curn•tanccs in her hos.band's hOme its invitrip.bly ~ matter of considerable diffi-
culty to ns<:ertain the precise circumstances in which the incident occurred. As
the incident takes place in the home of tho hu$~an~, \lie matori•I witne15Cs are
...112 SUPREME COURT REPORTS
. . (1983] 3 S.C R.
. "usuafly the husband and his pareilts or oth~r relatioiis of the ~Usband- slaying
A with him .. Whether it was cooking at the kitchen sto.ve which was responsible
·ro·r the ·accident or, a·ccordipg to the inmates of the house, there Was an ·ine~plf~
:cable urge fo suicide or whcth~r ·indeed the young wife ·was the victim of"a
plarihed murder· are matters -closely involving the intimate knoWledge of a
·V<oman's daily existence. [121 H, 122 A BJ ·

B If t'.:e incident is the result of a crime by the husband or his family, the
problem of ascertaining the truth is buidened by the privacy in which the
incident occurred. In the circun1stances where it is ·possible to record the
'dying declaration of the v1cti-in, it would be n1ore conducive to $.ecuring the
tFulh if the victim made .the declaration in the pr'!sence of a fen1ale police officer
~vho can be expected· tO· inspire confidence in the vic_tipi. Psychological factors
·play their"part, and their role.cannot. _be ~gnored. A ypul)g wife _c«,n be u1e
c subject of varying psychological pressures, and -becaust: that is sci the nuances
of fen1inine psychology support the need for including· a fe1nale police officer
as part of the investigating force; and [122 C~E]

(iii) The need to extend the application of the Coroners' Act, 1871 ·to
other cities besides those where it operates already. The application· of the
D Coroners'. Act Will make ·p6ssible an immediate inquiry. into the death of the
victim; whether it has been caused by accident,. homicide, suicide or suddenly
by means unknown. It contains provisidns which arc entirely salutary for the
pUrpOse of such inquiry, and an inquiry. under that enacti.nent would be more
meaningful and effective and complete.than one und~r ss. 174 and 175 of the·
, Code 'of Criminal _Procednre. The procedure conten1plated by the Coroners'
·Act, eosureS that the inQuiry into the dCath is held by a person o( indepe11dent
E ·Standing· and enjoying judicial powers, wiq1 a status and jurisdiction com 1nen- 7
surate with the necessities of such -cas<::s and the assistance of an appropriate
machinery. [122 F-H, 123.B-C]

ORIGINAL iuRISDJCTION '.Writ Petition No. 6607 of 1981.
F
Kapil sibal(A.C.) for the Petiti~n'er. - '
N.C. Talukdar and R.N. Poddar with him for the R1l&pondent.

G Miss A. Subhashini for CBI.·

Dan(el Latiffi and N.K. Aga~wal with hi?! for the Intervener.

The Judgment 'Of the Court was deliv~~ed.by
H ,1 ..• . ~,

· PATHAK;J. The petitioner, Shri Bhagwant Singh; has applied
·to this Court for relief in the niattcr of the death of· hi~ married
daughter, Gurinder Kaur.
BHAGWANT SINGH V. COMMR. OE POLICE (Pathak, J.) 113

Shri Bhagwant Singh is a member of the Indian Revenue
Service. His daughter, Gurinder Kaur, was 'one of 1hree children. A
She was an intelligent and talented girl who secured a first division
in the Senior Cambridge Examination and had obtained a B. Sc.
(Home Science) Degree from Lady Irwin College. She was endowed
with good looks and a pleasing personality, and her education and
deportment attracted notice. It is apparent that the father was proud
B
of his daughter. ·

Shri Bhagwant Singh and Shri Kartar Singh Sawhney were
colleagues in the office. They had been friends for over thirty years.
Shri Kartar Singh has a son, Amarjit Singh. The family lived at
J-7 /93, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. The son ran a motor parts shop · c
- at Kashmere Gate, Delhi. It appears that the two colleagues decided
on a marriage between Gurinder Kaur and Amarjit Singh in view of
the close association of the two families.

From the very beginning, it seems, Shri Bhagwant Singh was D
~ppqsed to the evils of the dowry system, and the sentiment was also
deeply entrenched in Gurinder Kaur for, it appears, she along. with
other girls of her college signed a pledge in favour of the "anti-dowry
movement''. According to Shri Bhagwant Singh, there was an
express stipulation between the respective parents that no dowry
would be demanded in the marriage. The marriage started off well E
and the young couple enjoyed a harmonious relationship for the first
few months. But very soon, it is ,alleged, Gurinder Kaur became
conscious of brnad hints from her mother-in· law that gifts in the
shape of money and jewellery were expected from her parents. Shri
Bhagwant Singh, on being informed of this, decided to ignore it, firm
in his conviction that any insidious attempt to extract a dowry F
should not be countenanced. It is alleged that from this point
Gurinder Kaur became the viclim of constant 1 ill-treatment
by her mother-in-law. She was carrying a baby, but amidst the
oppressive tensions at home she suffered a miscarriage and was
admitted to a Nursing Hom~. G

According to Shri Bhagwant Singh, his daughter continued to
be ill-treated and was · often taunted that unless the observed the
... family tradition of presenting a necklace to her mother-in-law . she
would remain without child. If is said that the pressure on Gurinder H
Kaur continued unabated, and it was not long before her husband
got it conveyed .to Shri Bhagwant Singh that he required abQut
114 SUPREME COURT REPORTS it983) 3 s. C.!l.

.Rs. 50,000 for financing his ·business. · As Sbri Bbagwant Sinah
A remained firm in bis resolve not to yield to these pressures, it is .
alleged that the girl continued to be harassed and her parents-in-law
made it plain to her that they regretted the marriage. The attitude
·and relations of her husband and his family towards her went from
bad to worse, and the regard which ordinarily a bride in the house
can expect to receive was replaced by a continuing scorn and con-
B tempt and ill-will. · It must be recalled that Gurinder Kaur was a j~

girl of good family, of refined character and well educated. Brought
·-(
up in a home where the dowry system was regarded as an evil to be
opposed, it can be presumed that she rebelled strongly against the
attempts at extortion directed against her father. It is rea.sonable to
c assume that the relations between the young husband and wife were
vitiated by bitter discord, and that she lived in the home in an
atmosphere of open and continuous hostility,

On August 9, 1980, ten months after the marriage, Gurinder
-
D Kaur, aged 22 years was found dead of third degree burns from a
kerosene fire in the bath room. According to the family of Kartar
Singh, all the members of the family had proceeded to the Gurudwara
Bangla Sahib in the early morning, and on their return the girl had
prepared breakfast for the eight members of the family. She and her
husband ate breakfast later and, it is said, the husband left for work
E about 10. 30 A.M. Within an hour thereafter, the girl was found
dead in the !1athroom. The tragedy occasioned· univer~il distress,
and on the versions put ciut by the newspapers agitated letters conde-
mning the dowry system and calling for urgent legislative and social
measures for reform poured into the press. The police authorities, it
F seems, tend to believe that the case was one of suicide, but Shri
Bhagwant Singh is convinced that murder cannot be ruled out.

It is not possible in this case, nor indeed would it be right for
us to do so, to enter into the question whether Ourinder Kaur
committed suicide or was murdered. That is a matter which is pro-
perly involved in the trial of a criminal charge by a court possessina
jurisdiction. We are concerned here only with an exarili.nation of
· the question whether; after being informed of Gurinder Kaur's death,
the police authorities conducted _themselves ·as law· and justice
required of them. A counter affidavit of October, 1981 of Shri
H P.S. Bhinder, Commissioner of Police, Delhi states that Gurindcr
. Kaur was admitted in the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on August
.
9. 1980 at 12. p P.Nf..
with
.
"lQO(o burn injurr" br her father-in-law,
BHAGWANT SINGH v. COMMR. OF POLICE (Pathak, J.) 115

Shri Kartar Singh Sawhney, and that on recejving information a
Sub-Inspector of Police visited the hospital and was told by the
doctor on duty at 3. 10 P.M. that Gurinder Kaur was unfit to m~kc
a statement. His enquiries led him to believe that Gurinder ~aur
had attempted to commit suicide. He registered the case as F .I.)l.
No. 507 dated August 9, 1980 under s. 309 of the Indian Penal Colle
and commenced investigation. At 8. 15 P.M; on the same day B
Gurinder Kaur died. The police investigation brought to light that
Ourinder Kaur was found burning at about 11 A.M. on August 9,
1980 in the bathroom of the first floor of the house. The police say
that the bath room was found bolted from inside, and it was broken
open by a servant, Ramu, with the assisstance of Smt. Satinder Kaur,
the elder daughter-in-law. After the fire was extinguished, Gurinder c
Kaur was removed to.the hospital. 1t is said that a tin can of 5 litters·
of Kerosene oil, two match boxes and one looking-glass with the
words "Do not hold any one responsible Pinky" written on its surface
with a soap cake were found. The Central Forensic Science Lab 0 ra·
tory experts summoned for the purpose were of opinion that the
D
writing on the mirror was that bf Gurinder Kal)r. It \Vas also s~id
that the door of the bathroom could have been broken open from
outside.

When Shri Bhagwant Singh complained about the manner in
·which the police investigation was proceeding and expressed his E
suspicions in regard to the circumstances in which his daughter died,
the police added section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act to the
charge on November 29, 1980. Subsequently, on May 15, 1981
reference to s. 306 of the Indian Penal Code was also included, The
police continued their investigation until Augu5t 29, 1981, and from
the investigation they inferred that it was a case of suicide. It seems F
that thereafter the investigation was entrusted by the Minister of
State for Home Affairs in the Government of India to the Centra
Bureau of Investigation, and the file was sent to its Director on
September Hl, 1981. For that reason, it is said, no question arose of
llling any report under s. 173 {2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. G

Shri Bhagwant ~ingh has vigorously contended that the· investi·
gating agency in this case did not carry out its statutory duties in a
bonafide manner and deliberately withheld the filing of a ·police
report and resorted to delaying the progress of the investigation in H
order to ensure that no proceedings \vere taken against the accused
in the case. ··'ae. disputes the ver~ion of the police that . the doctor
116 SUPREME· COURT REPORTS (1983] 3 s.C.\l

on duty at the hospital had s·aid that Gurinder Kaur was unfit to
make a statement and that it was not possible for the police to obtain
I-
her statement before her death. He has referred to the statement of
Shri Kartar Singh Sawhney, the father-in-law of the girl, made to
the'police on November 13, 1980, in which he had disclosed that
. Shri Bhagwant Singh had come to the hospital and he found that
his daughter was talking occasionally, and that during the period
B from 2.30 P.M. to 8.30 P.M. Shri Bhagwant Singh, his wife, his
niece, who was a doctor, and his elder brother Balwant Singh, as
well as the latter's wife and two sons, had been talking to the girl.
In his affidavit Shri Bhagwant Singh also alludes to the sfatement of
Smt. Satinder Kaur recorded by the police on August 9, 1980 where
c she stated that at the time of the tragedy she·· rushed upstairs and
fainted and that when she regained consciousness niany people
including her father-in-law, mother-in· law and brother-in-law, Raman
Deep Singh who lived on the second floor were present. It is
pointed out that if this statement is true, then it is not possible to
accept the version put forward by the family of Shri Kartar Singh
D that the servant, Ramu, with the assistance of Smt. Satin,der Kaur
had to break open the door of the bathroom because it was bolted
from inside. It is also pointed out that the servant Ramu and
Smt. Satinder Kaur were alleged to be on the ground floor when
the burning took place in the bath room on the first floor of the
E house . where the mother-in-law, Gurbachan Kaur was present.
Gurbachan Kaur, according to her statement, was ironing clothes .(
at that movement on the first floor, a few yards away from the bath-
room and would have been the first person to have witnessed the
tragedy and yet, it is questioned, there is no reason why she should
not have been the first to assist the servant Ramu in breaking open
F the door if indeed the door 'had to be broken open. It is also alleged
that the police never attempted to take into possession the cake of
soap in the bathroom with .which the deceased is supposed to have
written on the looking glass, nor did they take possession of the
, . blanket, which according to the statemel)t of Shri Kartar Singh
'G Sawhney, was employed to extinguish the fire. Several mspicious
circumstances have been set forth by Shri Bhagwant Singh in his
affidavit, and the opinion of the C.F.S.L. experts has been assailed
on the ground that it was delivered on an examination of the mirror
after more tha~ a month . .He ha~ ~ls~ attemp!ed t~ re?ut the asser-
tion of the police that he did not iom m the mvest1gatlon from the
r '~
··
H
outset and that he had originally said that he did not su:ipect. any \
foullplar. On the ccmtrary! he has dwelt a,t S()rn~ len!)th on the \
I
BHAGWANT SINGH v. COMMR. OF POLICE (Pathak, i.) 117
continuous attempts made by him to ensure an effectiv• investigation
into the cause of his daughter's death, approaching in this behalf A
the highest authorities in the land.

When this case came. before this Court,· an order was made
directing the filing of a detailed affidavit by the Commissioner of
Police setting forth full particulars of the ·various steps taken by the B.
police in connection with the investigation. A further counter affi-
davit was filed by Shri P. S. Bhinder, Commissioner of Police. It is
stated in the counter affidavit that the investigating officer remained
busy with the investigation of other cases and with matters concerning
the maintenance of Jaw and order, and that this particular case was
with Sub-Inspector Amrit Lal, who had 12 cases in hand, from
August 9, 1980 to August 11, 1980, and thereafter was entrusted to
Sub-Inspector Sri Ram, who had 29 cases in hand, from August 12,
1980, to November 13, 1980, and subsequently to Inspector Charan
Das, who had only one case in hand, from November 13, 1980 to
May 28, 1981. It is stated that these police officers "could not D
investigate this case all the time" because besides the other cases in
hand, they had also to look after the day·to-day work of the Police
Station. It is said also that during the period when the case was
under investigation with Inspector Charan Das, the file remained
under submission to the Crime Bench of Delhi for scrutiny with a E
view to guide the local police on further investigation. Finally, the
case passed into the hands of Inspector R. P. Kochhar of the Crime
Branch, who had four cases in hand, and he dealt with this case
from May 28, 1981 to September 18, 1981. It is pointed out that
Inspector Kochbar was at that time entrusted also with the investi•
F
gation of a number of cases involving a notorious dacoit as well as
two sensational murders. It is reiterated in the counter affidavit
that the statement of Gurinder Kaur could not be recorded by
the police as the doctor on duty had declared her unfit to make a
statement. It is admitted that the blanket with which. the fire was
extinguished was riot taken into possession ·by the police, but it is
asserted that the soap cake was taken on August 9, 1980. It is also G
. asserted. that on August, 10 1980 Sub-Inspector Amrit Lal brought a
team of C.F.S.L. experts to the place of occurrence and. a photo-
graph of the mirror was taken. It is alleged that although every
effort was made to record the statement of Shri Bhagwant Singh,
he declined to make any statement. It was only on April 21, 1981 H
- that he did so. It is conceded that reference to section 306 of the
Indian Penal Code was added only on May 15, 1981, the omission
118 SUPREME COURT REPORis (!9S3l 3s.c.k.

to do so earlier being explained as a mistake. The delay occasioned
A in the investigation is ascribed by the Commissioner of Police to ·the
fact that Shri BhagwanfSingh permitted his statement to be recorded
only as late as April 21, 1981.

We think it can be fairly stated that the police did not display
the promptitude and efficiency which the investigation of the case
required. There is much. that calls for comment. It appears from
the entries in ·the police Case Diary that a Sub-Inspector visited· the
place of occurrence on August 9, 1980 and seized a number of
articles. But it is conceded that he did not take into custody the
blanket with which the fire is said to have been put out. On the
c next day, experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory
visite<l the place and appear to have made an examination for chance
prints. They also photographed the mirror. And ,Yet, it was not
until over five weeks later that the police were able to obtain a report
from thein. Curiously, although the mirror was removed from the
D scene of occurrence and was examined for chance prints, no •'identi-
fiable prints" could be developed. Jn cases such as this, it would
have been of the essence that on visiting the place of occurrence
immediately on information of the incident, the mirror should have
been taken into possession by the police and handed over forthwith
to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory exper.ts for an urgent
E report in regard to the existence and identification of the prints.
Delay in such a matter is vital and can often result in the loss of
valuable clues. It is of little consolation that, according to the entry
C. D. No. 7 dated September 23, 1980 the Deputy Commissioner of
Police wrote a reminder ta the Director, Central Forensic· Science
Laboratory for an urgent examination oft he writing.
F
An important question was whether the bathroom door was
latched from inside and had to be forced open, or was in fact latched
froln outside. According to the family of Shri Kartar Singh, the.
door was forced open with the help of.the servant Ramu. The entry
G C. D. No. I dated August 9, 1980 in the Case Diary does not indi-
cate that Ramu's statement was recorded by the police on that day,
although it shows that the statements of other persons were recorded.
There is a suggestion by the learned counsel for the State that Ramu's
statement was also recorded on that very day, but that is not shown )
H by the Case Diary extracts filed before us. It is only as late as
Jannary 25, i981, according to the entry C. D. No. 13 of that date,
\hat the servant was exainiwd by the Station Honse Officer. Ramu
BllAGWANr SINGH v. COMMR. OF POLICB (Pathak, J.) !l!J
'· was .a material witness, and. yet strangely, as it appears from 'the
entries in the police Case Diary, he was allowed to leave the town A
and go to his. village before he could be fully examined by the police.
-There is no evidence that the police expressed any anxiety-to put him
through a thorough examination immediately or shortly after the
date of the occurrence or at least before Shri Kartar Singh's family
allowed Ramu to leave the town for his village.
B
Much has been made by the police of 'the reluctance of Shri
Bhagwant Singh to make a statement to them. · As a responsible
officer of sufficiently senior status in the Government of India it
would have been natural to expect that he would have come forward
from the very first to have his staternent recorded and to cooperate c
with the police, especially in view of the fact that he would have been
particularly anxious to have the truth determined into the death of
his own daughter. It is indeed difficult to believe that he did not
coop,rate with the police in the investigation or declined to give his
statement until April 21, 1981. But if he did so, it could only be
because of want of confidence in the· manner in which the police D
investigation \Vas being conducted.

The most vital evidence would have been the 'statement of
Gurinder Kaur herself, and yet even on that point there is a conflict
of testimony on the· question \Vhether she was fit to make a statement E
at 3.10 p.m. when the Sub-Inspector approached the doctor for the
purpose. On the other hand, according to the statement made by
her father-in-law, Shri Kartar Singh, himself to the police o_n Novem-
ber 13, 1980, when her father Shri Bhagwanl Singh came to the
hospital and entered the room, the girl was talking occasionally, and
during the period 2.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. Shri Bhagwant Singh, his F
w_ife, his niece who was a doctor and other members of his family
-had been talking to the girl. According to the statement of Dr.
Rajinder Pal Kaur, niece of Shri Bhagwant Singh, Gurinder Kaur was
in possession of her senses at the time and when Dr. Kaur· suggested
to one of the police officers, who was present, to record to statement G
of the girl, he declined to do so. It is regrettable that there is a
conflic_t on the question whether the girl was fit to make a statement
to the police, and we are constrained to point out that the conflict
centres on a vital part of the case.

There are other features of the case, including the question of
H
the transfer of a Television set to the family of Shri Kartar Singh as
a palliative by the uncle of the unfortunate girl, but we fin\! it
120 SUPREME COURT REPOR'tS (19831 3 S.C.!l.

unnecessary to enter into them. It is enough to point out that
A the investigation by the police does not inspire confidence. ft was, in
fact; considered materially inadequate by the Crime Branch itself.
. For on May 12, 1981, a memorandum was addressed by the Crime
Branch to the Deputy Commissioner of ·Police, Delhi pointing out
that the file showed that statements of material persons had not been
B recorded. We may also advert to the fact that although the girl was
taken to the hospital in a taxi, the police do not appear to have
attached any importance to recording the statement of the taxi driver.'
There is also an affidavit of one Shri Jagjit Singh ~fore' us from
which it appears that he was among the first to reach the house
when the incident occurred and that it. · was he who sugg.,sted that
c the girl, who was lying burnt half inside th.e bathroom and half
outside in the verandah, shou)d be taken' forthwith to the hospital,
and he states that it. was he who was instrumental in sending for the
taxi. Shri Jagjit Singh was an important witness, and althougti he
was in the neighbourhood, no attempt was made to record his state-
ment expeditiously.
D
Two inferences follow irresistibly from the material before us.
One is that the investigation by the police following the occurrence
was desultory and lackadaisical, and showed want of appreciatiOl) of
the emergent need to get at the truth of the case. There is a power·
ful suggestion made by learned counsel for Shri Bhagwant Singh that
E
the police were anxious not to embarrass Shri Kartar Singh and ·his
family and may indeed, as it were, have looked the other way instead
of vigorously pursuing the investigation. Whatever may be the
reason, there is no doubt that the investigation of the case suffered
from casualness, lack of incisiveness and unreasonable dilatoriness,
F and this is demonstrated most effectively by the manner in which
the case was passed from;one police official to another, being entrus-
ted successively to Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors each of whom
already had his hands full with the investigation· of several other
cases. There is the .admission that these police officers were
preoccupied with numer.ous other cases in their hands and they were
G officers who were also required to look after the day to day work of
the police station. It was only when on the repeated and insistent
petitions of Shri Bhagwant Singh the case passed into the control of
the Crime Branch that the investigation showed some signs of being
speeded up.
H
The other inference which. disturbs us·is that the entries in the
police Case Diary (set forth. in the annextire to the counter affidavit
filiAG\VANT SINGH v. COMMR. <!F POLICE (Pathak, J.) 1~1

on the record) do not appear to have been entered with the scrupu·
lous completeness and efficiency which the law requires of such a A
'document. The haphazard majntenance of a document of that
status not only does no credit to those responsible for maintaining it
but defeats the very purpose for which it is required to be maintained.
We think it to be of the utmost importance that the entries in a police
Case Diary" should be made with promptness, in sufficient detail,
B
r mentioning all significant facts, in careful chronological order and
with complete objectivity.

We believe it would be appropriate to make a few further
observations at this stage. It is impossible to escape the conclusion
that, in a case such as this, the death of a young wife must be
c
attributed either to the commission of a crime or to the Jact that,
mentally tortured by the suffocating circumstances surrounding her,
she committed suicide,. Young women of education, intelligence and ·
character do not set fire to themselves to welcome the embrace of
death unless provoked and compelled to that desperate step by the D
intolerance of their misery. It is pertinent to note that such. cases
evidence a deep-seated malady in our social order. The greed for
dowry, and indeed the dowry system as an institution, calls for the
severest condemnation. · It is evident that legislative measures such
as the Dowry Prohibition Act have· not met with 'the success for
which they were designed. Perhaps, legislation in itself cannot succeed E
in stamping out such an evil,. and 'the solution must ultimately be
found in the conscience and will of the social community and in its
active expression through legal and constitutional methods.

Besides this, what is important to point out is that where the
death in such cases is due to a crime, the perpetrators of the crime
not infrequently escape from the nemesis of the law because of inade·
quate police investigation. It would be of considerable assistance
if an appropriately high priority was given to the expeditious
investigation of such cases, if. a special magisterial machinery was ·
G
created for the purpose of the prompt investigation of such incidents,
and efficient investigative techniques and procedures were adopted
into taking account the peculiar 'features of such cases, Among other
suggestions, we would recommend that a female police officer of
sufficient rank and status in the police force should be associated H
with the investigation from its very inception. There are evident
advantages in that. In a case where a wife dies in susp1c1ous
~irc1,1mstances in her husband's home it is invariably a matter of
i22 SUPREME COURT REPORTS . h983} 3s.c.a.
considerable difficulty to ascertain the precise circum.stences in which
A the incident occurred. As the incident takes place in the ho~e of
the husband, the material witnesses 'are usually the husband and his
parents or other relations of the husband staying with him. Whether
it was cooking at the kitchen stove which was responsible for the.
accident or, according to the inmates of the house, there was an
B inexplicable urge to suicide or whether indeed the young wife was the
victim of a planned murder are matters closely involving the intimate
knowledge of a woman's daily existence. l
If the incident is the result of a crime by the husband. or his
family, the problem .of ascertaining the truth is burdened by the
c privacy in which the incident occurred. In circumstences where it is
possible to record the dying declaration of the victim, it would, in
our opinion, be more conducive to securing the truth if the victim
made the declaration in the presence of a female police oflicer who
can be expected to inspire confidence in the victim. Psychological
factors p:ay their part, ana their role cannot be ignored. A young
D
wife Can be the subject of varying psychological pressures, and because
that is so the nuances of feminine psychology support the need for
including a female police officer as part of the investigating force.
While making these observations we may einphasise that we intend
no aspersion on the rectitude or efficiency of the male members of the
E police involved in the investigation of such .cases.

Anothenuggestion which has found favour with us is the
need to extend the application of the Coroners' Act, l 871 to other
cities besides those where it operates already. The application of the
F Coroners' Act will make possible an immediate inquiry into lhe death ..
of the victim, whether it has been caused by accident, homicide,
suicide or suddenly by means unknown. It contains provisions which
are entirely salutary for the purpose of such inquiry, and we have
little doubt that an inquiry under that enactment would be more
meaningful and effective'and complete in the kind of case b1ifore us.
G We are aware that the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 contains,
in sections 174 and 175, provision for a police inquiry pursuant to
ali information that a person has comm.itted suicide or has been
killed by another or by an animal or by machinery or by an accident
or has died under circumstances raising reason!lble suspicion that
H some other person has committed an offence. In such a case the police
officer makes an investigation and submits a report to the District
Magistrate or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, and thereafter th~
BllA<iWANT SINGH v. COMMR. OF POLICE (Pathak, J.) i23
District Mabistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate or· other Executive
Magistrate empowered in that behalf is required to hold an inquest. A
The police officer making an investigation is entitled to summon two
or more persons for the purpose of the investigation and any other
person who appears to be acquainted with the facts of .the· case to
attend and answer truly all questions other than questions the answer
to which would have a tendency to incriminate him. We think that B
in the category of cases we have in mind the more appropriate and
effective procedure would be that contemplated by · the Coroners'
Act, which ensures that the ·inquiry into the death is held by a person
of independent standing and enjoying judicial powers, with a status
and jurisdiction commensurate with the necessities of such cases and
the assistance of an appropriate machinery.·
c
We have rcferrred to some of the important features of the case.
We have done so not for the purpose of determining whether the girl
was murdered or had committed suicide, but solely with the object of
drawing attention to the manner in which the investigation· of the
case was conducted. Disappointing as it may seem to ,those who D
have desired the institution of criminal actibn on the basis that a
crime has been committed, we do not think that on the material
before us we can go that far. .The investigation of the case was
transferred from the police adniinistration of Delhi to the Central
. Bureau of Investigation at the instance, we understand, of the petitio-
ner. We hope and trust that this investigation has been completed. E
It not, we would request the Central Bureau of Investigation to·
complete the investigation within three months from the today and
take such action as may be warranted by the result of the
investigation.

The.petition is disposed of accordingly.

S.R.

\