Kochi: The High Court division bench on Monday upheld the single bench order not to transfer the investigation into the death of former ADM Naveen Babu from the Kerala Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In January, while considering a petition filed by Naveen Babu's wife Manjusha K seeking a CBI probe, Justice Kauser Edappagath ordered the DIG (Kannur) to supervise the ongoing Special Investigation Team probe and directed the SIT to consider the grievances of the petitioner mentioned in the petition and look into the possibility of homicidal hanging. Naveen Babu was found hanging in his official quarters in Kannur on October 15, 2024, a day after CPM leader and then Kannur Panchayat President PP Divya accused him of bribery. Divya faces charges of abetment to suicide.

The petition filed by Manjusha had raised concerns about the police's premature conclusion of suicide without completing the inquest and autopsy. It also alleged that the accused’s political influence could intimidate witnesses and compromise the investigation's integrity. After the single bench rejected the plea, Manjusha filed a writ appeal at the High Court, which was again dismissed on Monday.

The division bench, comprising Justice PB Suresh Kumar and Justice Jobin Sebastian, ruled that the personal feelings of the victim, howsoever genuine, are not enough to warrant the transfer of the probe to the CBI. According to the court, if transfers of investigations are too frequent, this can also lead to a loss of trust in the criminal justice system, both from the public point of view and from the point of view of those who rely on the integrity of the legal process.

The order said the apprehension raised should be reasonable and if this principle is not adopted while considering the requests for transferring the investigation, the public would think that the system can be easily swayed by outside influence. As a consequence, they will lose faith in the normal legal process.

The court also assessed the circumstances pointed out by Manjusha in her petition that forced her to doubt whether Naveen Babu died by suicide or not. She said that even though his body was seen by the driver at 8 am on October 15, 2024, it was reported to the police only at 9.40 am. She also said that the police concluded in the First Information Report itself that it was a case of suicide. Besides, the post-mortem was conducted before the relatives arrived, and the inquest was held without informing the relatives.

The court said that the delay of 1 hour and 40 minutes in reporting the death to the police is no ground to suspect that the case is not one of suicide since there was no allegation of malice against the driver and that delay can be attributed to human conduct, particularly in moments of shock and distress. Regarding entry in FIR as suicide, the court said that it failed to understand how it could be argued based on the contents of the entry that the police had concluded it as a case of suicide, and it does not preclude an independent and impartial investigation into the cause of death. Citing the provision of the BNSS, the court said that the inquest doesn't need to be held only in the presence of relatives.

The court further observed that it is not a case where the accusation is against top officials of the State Government or State Police who would be in a position to influence the investigation, when the probe is conducted by their subordinate officers. "This is also not a case where the CBI, or for that matter any other investigating agency, would be in an advantageous position to carry on the investigation in a fair and impartial manner. This is also not a case where the death of Naveen Babu has political repercussions for the political leaders to go overboard and interfere with the investigation to protect the image of the political party. On the other hand, this is a case which could be investigated by any agency, adhering to established investigative protocols," the order said.