IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
WP(C) No. 24257 of 2007(K)
1. V.PEETHAMBARAN,
... Petitioner
2. B.MANJILAS,
3. T.SURESH KUMAR,
4. C.SUDHARMAN,
5. T.JAYAKUMAR,
Vs
1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY
... Respondent
2. SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
3. PRESIDENT,
4. SECRETARY,
5. DISTRICT MANAGER,
6. PROJECT DIRECTOR,
7. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION,
For Petitioner :SRI.S.M.PREM
For Respondent :SRI.T.P.M.IBRAHIM KHAN, SC, FCI
The Hon'ble MR. Justice R.BASANT
Dated :12/02/2008
O R D E R
R. BASANT, J.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````
W.P.(C) No. 24257 OF 2007 K
````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Dated this the 12th day of February, 2008
J U D G M E N T
The short prayer of the petitioners in this writ
petition is that crime No.341/07 of Vizhinjam police station
may be entrusted to the 7th respondent CBI for investigation.
2. Serious allegations about misappropriation of large
quantity of rice which were in the possession of the Food
Corporation of India is alleged in the said crime. It is alleged
that officials of the F.C.I. in collusion with some others had
siphoned out rice from the possession of the F.C.I. with
dishonest intention. The petitioners submit that such a
serious crime committed by the officials of the F.C.I. in
collusion with others deserves to be investigated by a Central
Agency. The nature of the challenge before the investigator is
such that a local investigator may not be able to do justice to
the job and, therefore, the case may be entrusted to the CBI.
WPC.24257/07
: 2 :
This is the short prayer. The learned counsel for the
petitioners further submits that the State Government had
undertaken on the floor of the Legislative Assembly that
investigation shall be entrusted to the CBI but no steps have
been taken by the State Government so far. Notice was given
to all concerned. The F.C.I., the 5th respondent, has filed a
formal objection. They have denied the allegations in the
petition but no worthwhile contention has been raised which
can be an effective answer to the prayer for investigation by
the CBI. No specific objection has been raised by anyone.
The learned Public Prosecutor, on behalf of the State, has
reported that the State has no objection and wants the matter
to be investigated by the CBI.
3. The learned Standing Counsel for the CBI submits
that the CBI is heavily overloaded with work and want of
infrastructure and facilities fetter the ability of the CBI to
conduct an effective investigation. The learned Standing
Counsel submits that if this Court directs the CBI to conduct
WPC.24257/07
: 3 :
investigation, there may also be an appropriate direction to
ensure that the requisite materials and resources are also
provided by the State Government for the conduct of the
investigation.
4. Having considered all the relevant inputs, I am
satisfied that this petition can be allowed and direction can be
issued to the 7th respondent CBI to take over and complete
the investigation in crime No.341/07 of Vizhinjam police
station.
5. This writ petition is accordingly allowed. The 7th
respondent CBI shall take over and complete the investigation
in crime No.341/07 of Vizhinjam police station. I direct that
the 1st respondent shall make all necessary infrastructure and
facilities available to the 7th respondent for a proper conduct
of the investigation.
(R.BASANT, JUDGE)
aks