Narendra Rawat v. State of Uttarakhand

SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar's order with Signatures COURT'S OR JUDGE'S ORDERS

WPCRL/1697/2020

Narendra Rawat

……..Petitioner Versus State Of Uttarakhan ……Respondent

Hon'ble Alok Mahra, J.

Mr. Kunwar Nirpendra Singh Rautela, learned counsel petitioner.

¶2Mr. Dinesh Chauhan, learned A.G.A. along with Mr. Pramod Tiwari, learned Brief Holder for the State.

¶3Mr. Piyush Garg, learned special counsel for CBI.

¶4By means of the present criminal writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks following reliefs:

(i) By way of issuing a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction for the respondent no.2 to investigate homicide of petitioner's brother committed by officials of electricity-department at about 8.30 a.m. on 25.09.2020 in Haldwani (relatable to F.I.R. No.196 under Section 304-A of I.P.C. P.S. Kathgodam, District Nainital).

(ii) By way of issuing a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction for constituting a special investigation team \\comprising of senior police officers with impeccable career records of professionalism, integrity and independence, reporting directly to this Hon'ble Court, for conducting a fair and independent

investigation and inquiry into offence stated in the 196 under Section 304-A of I.P.C. P.S. Kathgodam, District Nainital.

(iii) By way of issuing a writ of mandamus or any other writ, or order or direction for a court-monitored-investigation in relation to the homicide of the petitioner's brother namely-late Kamal Rawat S/o Madan Rawat R/o Ward No.35, Damuvadhunda, Police Station-Kathgodam, District Nainital.

¶5Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit on

25.09.2020, 1immediately after incident, petitioner submitted a written complaint before the police authorities alleging that at about 8:30 A.M., his brother, while travelling on a bicycle, came into contact with a live electric wire lying on the public road and died due to electrocution; that, the live wire had fallen on the road because of the negligence of the officials of the Electricity Department, who had prior knowledge of the dangerous condition but failed to rectify the same. It is further submitted that despite disclosure of a cognizable offence, respondent no.4 failed and refused to register the petitioner's complaint on the date of the incident; that, consequently, petitioner forwarded copies of the complaint to various constitutional and administrative authorities, including Hon'ble President of India, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, the District Magistrate, Nainital, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, seeking appropriate

action.

¶6Learned counsel would further submit even on

26.09.2020, respondent no.4 deliberately failed to register the First Information Report; that, F.I.R. came to be registered only after the local administration apprehended public resentment and unrest arising out of the inaction of the police; that, respondent no.4, in connivance with the officials of the Electricity Department, deliberately diluted the seriousness of the offence from the very inception so as to shield the real culprits; that, that during the intervening period, officials of Electricity Department repeatedly approached the family members of the deceased to persuade them to settle the matter.

¶7Learned counsel would further submits that on 28.09.2020, the office of the Superintending Engineer, Electricity Distribution Circle, Haldwani, issued a communication sanctioning an ex gratia amount of ₹4,00,000/- in favour of the legal heirs of the deceased; however, according to the petitioner, no such amount has actually been disbursed to the widow of the deceased. It is also submitted on

30.09.2020, Managing Director of Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited, Dehradun, suspended certain departmental officials, which, according to petitioner, constitutes an admission of negligence on the part of the Electricity Department.

¶8Learned counsel for the petitioner

would further submit that Haldwani houses several senior offices of the Electricity Department equipped with advanced monitoring and control systems capable of detecting even minor fluctuations or sagging in high-voltage transmission lines. It is contended that whenever an 11 KV transmission line comes into contact with the ground, the protection system is designed to automatically trip feeder and disconnect the electricity supply; that, despite the live wire having fallen on the road, the electricity supply was either not automatically disconnected or was restored without ensuring public safety, resulting in the electrocution and death of the petitioner's brother. It is, therefore, argued that the circumstances prima facie disclose gross negligence and culpability on the part of the officials concerned; that, the conduct of respondent no.4 from the very inception of the case demonstrates a lack of fairness and impartiality, thereby giving rise to a reasonable apprehension that the investigation has not been conducted in a fair, effective and unbiased manner.

¶7Per contra, learned State Counsel would submit that if the petitioner's grievance was regarding the initial refusal of the police to register the F.I.R., the statutory remedy available at the relevant point of time was to approach the jurisdictional Magistrate under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C.. He would further

submit that an F.I.R. was subsequently registered in relation to the death of the deceased due to electrocution under Section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code and, after completion of investigation, a charge-sheet has already been submitted before competent Court on

07.05.2024. It is, therefore, submitted that the investigation has culminated in a police report under Section 173 Cr.P.C., and no case is made out for transfer of investigation either to a Special Investigation Team or to any other agency.

¶8Learned counsel appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation would submit that no direction for investigation by the C.B.I. can be issued in the facts of the present case in the absence of any exceptional circumstances warranting transfer of investigation. It is submitted that the investigation has already been concluded and competent police authorities have filed the charge-sheet before the jurisdictional Court. It is further contended mere dissatisfaction of the petitioner with the manner of investigation cannot, by itself, constitute a ground directing investigation by C.B.I. or constituting a Special Investigation Team.

¶9Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the material available on record, this Court finds that the principal grievance of the petitioner relates to the manner of investigation and the alleged delay in registration of the

F.I.R. However, it is undisputed that the F.I.R. has already been registered, the investigation stands concluded, and, as per the instructions received from the State, a charge-sheet has been submitted before competent Court on

07.05.2024. Once the investigation has culminated in the filing of the police report under Section 173 Cr.P.C., the petitioner has an efficacious statutory remedy before the jurisdictional Court, including seeking further investigation or such other relief as may be available in accordance with law. In the absence of any exceptional circumstance indicating manifest illegality, mala fides, or failure of justice, this Court is not inclined to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution for directing transfer or reinvestigation after submission of the charge-sheet.

¶10In the facts of the present case, this Court does not find any such exceptional circumstance warranting exercise of its extraordinary writ jurisdiction directing investigation by C.B.I., constituting a Special Investigation Team.

¶11Accordingly, criminal writ petition, being devoid of merit, is dismissed.

¶12No order as to costs.

(Alok Mahra, J.) 30-07-2026 Mamta

MA MTA RANI DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND,

2.5.4.20=6a812005bebfcf46f 244f3e584af1449e430ef900b f09a6d67ebbd642671329b, postalCode=263001, st=Uttarakhand, serialNumber=5de1751a4f1 d9cabfd54852c9e68911ca8b 66dd26690a191648ab5d8dd 004efti, cn=MAMTA RANI Date: 2026.07.31 18:02:26 +05'30'