Kerala High Court freed a murder convict due to police investigation flaws and directed urgent reforms using digital tools like ‘e-Sakshya’. Court stressed on strict use of BNSS rules in all future cases.
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KOCHI: The Kerala High Court strongly criticised the State police department and ordered them to improve how they investigate crimes. The Court also told them to give police officers proper training in modern digital tools such as ‘e-Sakshya’ to record and keep evidence properly in criminal cases.
This major direction came from a Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar.
The judges gave this order while cancelling the conviction of a man named Suresh, who was earlier found guilty of murder by a lower court. The High Court found many serious mistakes and carelessness in how the police investigated the case.
The Court ordered the State Police Chief and the Home Department to ensure that police officers follow the rules under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 while investigating any crime.
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They asked the police to start using new systems like ‘e-Sakshya’ without delay to improve evidence collection and case handling.
“The State Police is urgently required to ramp up their skills and prioritise adoption of these reforms, through updated protocols, training, and investment in technology and forensics, to meet legal mandates and public expectations for foolproof investigations, especially in heinous crimes like murder e-Sakshya is the technological lynchpin of the BNSS reforms. It embodies the principle that evidence once created should be immediately saved and shared in digital form for the justice system to use,”
-the judgment stated.
The judges mentioned that adopting new reforms under the BNSS can help stop poor-quality investigations, especially in serious crimes like murder. It will also make India’s criminal justice system stronger and more trustworthy.
The case that brought this matter to attention was an appeal filed by Suresh, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Sessions Court in 2019. The crime took place in 2015 in Pathanamthitta, where he was accused of pushing his relative into a roadside drain, which caused severe spinal injuries. The victim later died due to those injuries.
But the High Court found that the prosecution could not prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. A key point noted was that the injured victim, while still alive, told doctors he fell from a height — not that anyone pushed him.
Even though the victim was alive and conscious for about two weeks, the police did not record any dying declaration, which is a very important legal step. The Court said this created a possibility that the victim might have made a statement clearing the accused.
The Court also observed that many important pieces of evidence, such as the victim’s initial statement and proper recording of the crime scene, were either hidden or never collected. These lapses happened because the investigation was done carelessly.
After reviewing all the facts, the Court found the mistakes to be so serious that it decided to cancel the conviction and acquitted Suresh.
The Court then strongly highlighted the need to use scientific methods and digital tools in investigations, especially since the new BNSS law requires it.
According to BNSS, police must now record key investigation steps like crime scene visits, witness statements, and confessions through video and audio recordings. The law also asks for forensic experts to be involved in serious crime cases.
“The BNSS ushers in a new era of evidence-focused, technology enabled policing, replacing outdated colonial procedures with mandates for audio-visual documentation, scientific evidence collection, and digital case management. Sections 105, 176, 180, 254, 265, 308, and 349 of the BNSS require that searches, seizures, witness statements, and other crucial steps be recorded by “audio-video electronic means.” They also insist on forensic expert involvement in serious crimes and provide legal authority to obtain scientific samples from suspects. Therefore, the old habits of cursory scene examination, reliance on witness memory, and sparse documentation will no longer suffice,”
-the Court added.
The Court made it clear that if the police don’t start using these new reforms and digital tools properly, it could lead to more failed investigations and innocent people being punished wrongly.
“Unless efforts are made for strict compliance of the provision as expeditiously as possible, if not already made, the State Police may lag behind in the implementation of the provision.”
In this case, the lawyer for the accused Suresh was Advocate V Sethunath, and Senior Public Prosecutor Neema TV represented the State.
CASE TITLE:
Suresh vs The State of Kerala
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