Calcutta High Court Fines CID ₹50 Lakh Over Non-compliance in Cooperative Society Case
The Calcutta High Court, in a decisive action, imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh on the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal. This penalty was levied due to the CID’s failure to adhere to the court’s directive concerning an alleged misappropriation of funds at a cooperative society in Alipurduar district.
The cooperative society, which had around 4,000 depositors contributing funds during its inception, came under scrutiny in 2020. Allegations emerged suggesting that the society’s leadership had illicitly siphoned off funds. Following these claims, a section of the depositors lodged a complaint, leading to an initial police investigation. The case was later handed over to the CID for a more detailed probe.
However, the complainants remained dissatisfied with the CID’s investigation. This prompted them to approach the Calcutta High Court, seeking a more thorough investigation by the CBI. Addressing the case on August 24, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay declared,
“the probe would be conducted by the CBI and the ED.”
He further directed the CID to
“hand over all documents related to the case to the two central agencies”.
During a subsequent hearing, representatives from the CBI and the ED brought to the court’s attention that the CID had not executed the court’s directive. They stated that the
“documents relating to the case had not been handed over to the agencies.”
Reacting to this non-compliance, Justice Gangopadhyay remarked,
“Thus, the absence of detection of poison in the viscera report alone need not be treated as conclusive proof of the fact that the victim has not died of poison. As pointed out by this Court in a number of cases, where the deceased dies as a result of poisoning, it is difficult to successfully isolate the poison and recognize it. Lack of positive evidence in this respect would not result in throwing out the entire prosecution case, if the other circumstances clearly point out the guilt of the accused.”
Given the CID’s failure to comply, Justice Gangopadhyay imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh on the department. He further mandated that the CID must
“hand over the documents within three days to both the central agencies.”
Additionally, the fine is to be
“deposited with the registrar general of the high court within two weeks.”
This judgment emphasizes the judiciary’s commitment to ensuring transparency and adherence to court directives by investigative agencies, especially in cases with significant financial implications and a broad impact on stakeholders.
