A Junior Officer Cannot Order A Probe Against A Senior Officer’s Closure Report: Jammu & Kashmir HC

Brief Facts Of The Case

• The Jammu and Kashmir High Court recently quashed an order issued by the superintendent of policeon a re-investigation in a case already closed by his superior, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu.
• The petitioner Ajeet Chopra has challenged the order issued by the Superintendent of Police directing the further investigation of the case even though the investigation was already closed as Not Admitted by the orders of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu.
• The petitioner held that after investigation of the case, the investigating officer arrived at a conclusion that allegations against the Petitioner are not substantiated and a report was submitted for the same by the investigating officer to Dy Superintendent of Police, SDPO, City South, Jammu, who further submitted the matter to Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu.
• It was the further case of the petitioner that SSP, Jammu accepted the recommendation of Dy. Superintendent of Police and concluded the investigation of the case as not admitted.
• However, Superintendent of Police, City South, Jammu, surprisingly, after according the approval to the closure of the case by SSP, Jammu issued the impugned order observing that the case was not investigated professionally.

Observations Of The Court

• The Jammu and Kashmir High Court have recently ruled that once a superior officer of Police approves the closure of a case (as not admitted), the case cannot be opened for re-investigation by an officer who is inferior in rank.
• The Bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar further added that if at all there was any scope for re-investigation of the case, the officer could have placed his opinion before his senior officer asking for his permission instead of taking it upon himself and directing further reinvestigation of the case.
• With these observations, the High Court, quashed an order issued by Superintendent of Police, City South, Jammu directing for re-investigation in a case, which was already closed by his superior, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, and gave the liberty to the relevant authorities of the Police Department to take appropriate disciplinary action against the inferior rank officer for insubordination and abuse of process of law.

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