In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court of India has dismissed an appeal by the Punjab government, thereby upholding the decision to assign the investigation of a young woman’s custodial death to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The young woman, identified as Ramandeep Kaur, tragically died while in police custody in August 2017, sparking allegations of severe misconduct.
The case surfaced when Mukul Garg, through his attorneys Pratham Sethi and Pranshul Dhul, petitioned the High Court, alleging that his fiancée was brutally beaten by the police during interrogation in a fraud case, leading to her untimely demise. Following her death, the local police hastily closed the case, labeling it as a suicide, which prompted immediate backlash and demands for a thorough investigation.
The High Court had initially ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) following the filing of the petition. However, discrepancies in the SIT’s findings and the handling of crucial evidence, such as a knife found on the deceased, raised serious questions about the integrity of their investigation. The knife, crucial to the case, was reported missing after being handed over to ASI Sukhdev Singh, with no subsequent inquiry made into its disappearance.
Highlighting these issues, the High Court emphasized the numerous shortcomings in the SIT’s report and declared the need for an unbiased investigation to maintain public trust in the legal system. Consequently, on March 11, 2024, the court directed the CBI to take over the investigation and report back within three months.
