MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently observed that whenever cases and counter cases are filed by two individuals or groups against each other, the same investigation officer should probe both the cases and find out the real aggressor.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh observed while quashing the lower court proceedings in two criminal cases — a case and a counter case — registered by Thoothukudi police. According to the order, the petitioner Mathan Kumar had posted some news against the complainant, who is a panchayat president, on social media in May last year, for which a case was registered against him.
Subsequently, it was alleged that the petitioner had approached the complainant the next day and physically and verbally abused him. He also filed a separate complaint against the complainant and four others. Two different police officers investigated the cases independently and filed separate final reports, which were taken on file by the Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate No. I. Seeking to quash the case pending against him, Mathan Kumar moved the high court.
Justice Venkatesh observed that both the final reports are liable to be interfered with by the court as two different investigation officers had probed the cases, which is in contravention of a full bench judgment reported early this year. The final reports have also been filed mechanically in both the cases and are therefore illegal, he added, and quashed the cases.