Superior courts can steer criminal probe, rules SC

New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court has said that superior courts have the powers to direct investigation into a crime under specific penal provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"...it can't be said that high court had committed any error in exercising its jurisdiction to interdict the investigation of the offence under Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide) against the accused named in FIR," said the apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi in the case of two teenager's death in Gujarat in 2008.

"Such power...has to be invoked if the facts of any given case so demand," said Justice Gogoi.

The apex court said this while rejecting a state government plea against the Gujarat High Court's order quashing the proceedings under Section 304 but allowing investigation and further steps under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act.

The government contended that the Jan 10, 2011, high court order could not restrict the scope of investigation and proceedings to a particular section of the IPC.

The case is rooted in the death of Dipesh and Abhishek, students of Class 6 and 5 respectively in the Gurukul of Bapu Asaram Ashram located at Motela in Gujarat.

Both Dipesh and Abhishek after having dinner at Gurukul July 3, 2008, went missing. Two days later, their bodies were found from the bed of the Sabarmati river close to the ashram.

The ashram authorities did not inform police despite the insistence of the parents of the dead students.

The first information report (FIR) lodged Nov 7, 2011, alleged that on account of delay on the part of the ashram authorities in launching a prompt and effective search of the missing children they could not be rescued alive.

The FIR also highlighted the failure of ashram authorities to effectively man the gates in the ashram.

The apex court rejected the plea of the victims' parents that the seven accused in the case be tried under Section 304 IPC for committing the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The apex court said: "To attract the ingredients of the said offence something more positive than a mere omission, lapse or negligence on the part of the named accused will have to be present."

It also dismissed their request for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The court said the commission of the offence of culpable homicide would require some "positive act on the part of the accused as distinguished from silence, inaction or a mere lapse".

"Allegations of not carrying out a prompt search of the missing children; of delay in the lodging of formal complaint with the police; and failure to take adequate measures to guard the access from the ashram to the river, which are the principal allegations made in the FIR, cannot make out a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder punishable under Section 304 IPC," the judgment read.

The Supreme Court Order bears out the fact that the deaths were accidents and not murders as had been portrayed in the media at the time of the accident.

I was in Ahmedabad during those days and had also written about the same at that time.

The facts in the case were as follows.

The boys after lunch left the Ashram without permission and did not return till late night.

The Ashram authorities did not take the matter seriously as they thought the boys may gone to visit their relatives as most of the boys had local relatives. It was only on the second day that the Ashram authorities became worried and started searching seriously.

When the boys could not still be found. they informed the police. It is the normal practice followed by all institutions as they don't want to involve the police.

Besides giving the institution a bad name, it also also the police to harass the institution.

Yes, you can say, the Ashram authorities were wrong in delaying the FIR. However, some ex-disciples of Asharam Bapu who had been sacked by Bapu on various charges of misdemeanor and misappropriation of funds found this a good opportunity to soil his reputation.

They started a campaign that Asharam Bapu had got the two boys murdered and he practiced black magic.

The India electronic media led by Star News, Aaj Tak and India Today found this a good chance to defame the Indian saints and show their foreign masters that they are secular.

Some like India TV even tried to black mail Bapu by asking his to cough up Rs one crore if he wanted the repulsive "Breaking News" to be stopped.

We have seen similar blackmail by Zee News on Naveen Jindal which has unfortunately backfired on Zee News and Jindal had recorded the complete conversation Bapu did not succumb to the black mail and the broadcasts continued.

The broadcasts stopped only when two disciples of Bapu took it upon themselves to carry out a sting operation on the main culprit, a person by the name of Raju Chandak,(Raju Lambu). Who is Raju Chandak? Read below.

Raju Chandak, an erstwhile inmate of the Ashram, was expelled from the Ashram after about 20 years in 2005 for his waywardness and indecent conduct. Since then he had harbored feelings of vengeance and acrimony towards Sant Asharamji Bapu and the Ashram. He was the kingpin of ‘anti - Asaramji’ campaign and had roped in other people who had been earlier expelled from the Ashram for similar conduct.

The main cronies who supported Lambu were Amrit Prajapati and Mahendra Chawla. They had jointly planned and implemented the Gurukul episode. Thereafter, Lambu started using forms of media like television channels and newspapers for leveling various false and concocted allegations to tarnish the public image of Bapuji.

Raju Lambu divulged startling revelations of all his nefarious activities fortuitously during a sting operation. This sting operation has completely exposed all despicable actions of Raju Lambu and his cronies. The manner in which he himself accepted his involvement in all the conspiracies establishes the fact that he has committed an abominable crime of defaming a great world-renowned saint.

Raju Lambu who deviously used the media for this sacrilegious drive has also disparaged and ridiculed the media stating, “Whatever you give to the media, they will publish it as a scandal. They are like kids. Their sole intention is to increase TRP.”