Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 11: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar has dismissed a petition seeking CBI investigation into a 2022 burglary case involving senior citizens and legal academics, Dr Noor Mohammad Bilal and his wife, Dr Shahnaz, residents of Hazratbal, Srinagar.
The Court upheld the decision of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, who had earlier declined the plea for transferring the probe to a central agency.
The judgment, delivered by Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal, reaffirms the limited jurisdiction of subordinate courts in ordering investigations by central agencies like the CBI and underscores that such powers lie solely with constitutional courts and are to be exercised only in rare and exceptional circumstances.
The case stems from a reported burglary at the residence of Dr Bilal and his wife on April 9, 2022, while they were on a pilgrimage to Umrah. The couple had allegedly locked their home with valuables, including gold ornaments worth over Rs 75 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh in cash. Upon being informed of the incident by neighbours, their relatives lodged an FIR (No. 35/2022) at Nigeen Police Station under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC.
Following dissatisfaction with the investigation, the petitioners approached the CJM Srinagar in November 2022, seeking judicial monitoring of the probe. Despite the subsequent filing of a charge sheet and the identification of accused individuals, the couple claimed serious lapses and irregularities in the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The petitioners filed a protest petition in December 2023, alleging bias and inefficiency by the SIT and sought a fresh investigation by an independent and credible agency, preferably the CBI. However, the CJM closed the proceedings on January 29, 2025, citing lack of jurisdiction to transfer investigations to the CBI under Section 173(8) CrPC.
Aggrieved by the CJM’s order, the couple approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution and Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, seeking quashing of the CJM’s closure order, a de novo investigation by a different agency and recovery and return of stolen items as per legal provisions.
The High Court, after examining legal precedents and the scope of judicial intervention, held that Magistrates do not possess the authority to direct CBI probes under Sections 156(3) or 173(8) CrPC.
Maintaining that the transfer of investigations to central agencies is a power reserved for High Courts and the Supreme Court, to be used sparingly and only in exceptional cases, the court ruled that mere dissatisfaction or allegations of inefficiency in the investigation do not constitute grounds for such extraordinary relief.
Quoting from key judgments, including K V Rajendran vs Superintendent of Police and CBI vs Rajesh Gandhi, the Court emphasized that no party has the right to demand investigation by a specific agency and that the public confidence, bias, or failure must be demonstrably evident for a constitutional court to intervene.
The judgment observed that while the petitioners’ grievances may be genuine, no legal basis existed to set aside the CJM’s order. “The power to order reinvestigation by a different agency cannot be exercised merely to vindicate prestige or based on speculative dissatisfaction,” said Justice Nargal.
With no procedural illegality or miscarriage of justice found in the CJM’s order, the High Court dismissed the petition and upheld the January 29 decision.
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