Closure report by police: India
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Closure report by cops doesn’t rule out prosecution
Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN
From the archives of The Times of India 2007, 2009
New Delhi: In a stinging observation that could worry many an accused who has got a clean chit from the police, including Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors payoff case, the Supreme Court said a closure report filed by police after investigating a complaint was no guarantee against further prosecution on the same charges.
“If the closure report submitted to a court by police is accepted as final, then it will create serious anomaly in the justice delivery system,” said a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Deepak Verma.
The Bench rejected a plea by one N Naatryan challenging fresh initiation of proceedings on a complaint by one Sakhivel. His counsel said an earlier complaint had been investigated and the police had filed a closure report.
‘Judiciary, not police, final word on cases’
New Delhi: SC has observed that a closure report filed by police after investigating a complaint was no guarantee against further prosecution on the same charges.
Now allegations, identical to those made in the earlier complaint, had been made and proceedings initiated, the counsel said and sought quashing of the same.
The bench rejected the plea saying, “If closure report by police is accepted as gospel truth, then police will become the final authority on people’s grievances and complaints,” and added, “closure report by police can’t be the end of prosecution.”