Kerala High Court Directs Investigating Authorities To Issue Notices To Complainants Or Legal Heirs When Person Named In FIR Is Removed From List Of Accused

The Writ Appeal before the High Court was directed against the judgment of a Single Judge, whereby the writ petition seeking a direction to conduct further investigation in a criminal case was dismissed. The petitioner is the legal heir of the victim/injured, and the case was registered alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 341, 326,307 read with Section 149 of the IPC.

The Division Bench of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian ordered, “We therefore, direct the State Police Chief to issue necessary instructions to the investigating authorities to promptly issue notices to the defacto complainants or their legal heirs whenever a person named as an accused in the FIR is removed from the list of accused during the course of an investigation.”

Advocate Abdul Khader Kunju S. represented the Petitioner while Government Pleader K.A. Anas represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The matter pertained to an incident of the year 2019. The investigation in the case was completed, and the case was ripe for trial. The main grievance of the appellant, who is the daughter of the injured in the said case, was that, though the First Information Statement was given narrating the true facts of the incident and naming the assailants who were previously known to the injured, some of those assailants were exonerated by the Police. As per the appellant, the investigation in the case was conducted in a perfunctory and improper manner, culminating in the filing of a final report exonerating the real culprits.

Reasoning

The Bench, at the outset, took note of the fact that the case is presently at the stage of trial. The Bench mentioned that during the course of the trial, the appellant, being a witness, would have an opportunity to adduce evidence regarding all the persons who, according to her, participated in the commission of the offence.

“If such evidence is brought on record and the trial court is satisfied that any person, other than those already arrayed as accused, has also taken part in the commission of the offence, the court is well empowered under law to proceed against such persons in accordance with Section 358 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). In such circumstances, a direction for further investigation is not at all warranted in the instant case”, it held.

The Bench also noticed that the investigating authorities had not issued any notice to the defacto complainant or his legal heirs, intimating them of the fact of removal of an accused, who was named in the FIR, from the list of accused in the final report. “Although not applicable in the instant case, we are of the view that such inaction on the part of the investigating authorities would cause prejudice to the defacto complainant since he would lose an opportunity to take remedial action against the removal of an accused who was named in the FIR”, it stated.

Thus, finding no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment, the Bench dismissed the writ appeal and passed a direction to the Investigating Authorities to issue notices to the defacto complainants or their legal heirs whenever a person named in the FIR is removed from the list of accused. “The Registry of this Court is directed to send a copy of this judgment to the Secretary (Home Department), Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram, for onward transmission to the State Police Chief”, it concluded.

Cause Title: Shareena v. State Of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2025:KER:84498)

Appearance

Appellant: Advocates Abdul Khader Kunju S., A Al Faya

Respondent: Government Pleader K.A. Anas

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