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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has directed CBI to initiate a preliminary enquiry into allegations by a dentist of abduction and destruction of evidence by Chandigarh police during the investigations in FIRs lodged against him by some foreign patients.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said an independent investigation was indeed required to clear all doubts as to the allegations which related to personal liberty of a citizen. 

The bench declined to interfere with the Punjab and Haryana High Court's orders for lodging of the investigation into allegations made by respondent Mohit Dhawan.

The Chandigarh administration filed a special leave petition against the High Court's order of March 3, 2023.

As the dentist faced three FIRs, he approached the High Court for protection. In one of application before the High Court, he alleged certain police officials had abducted him during investigation and had also tampered with the evidence and had invaded his privacy.

The High Court by the impugned order directed a Special Investigation Team to be set up by the Director-General of Police, Punjab to look into the entirety of the matter. The High Court, further, directed an FIR to be registered against the police officials. 

Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj for the UT administration contended the respondent, who has three FIRs registered against him, wherein he has been charge-sheeted by the Chandigarh Police, is now levelling allegations of kidnapping and abduction against the Investigating Officer and the officials who were cited as witnesses in the charge-sheets. 

He also submitted that the respondent never sought registration of an FIR from the High Court in this case and the High Court has exceeded its jurisdiction. The High Court thus went far beyond the pleadings in the matter while passing the impugned order.

It was also contended the respondent is in a habit of levelling false and frivolous allegations against police officials and lawyers appearing for the Union Territory/police.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan for the respondent countered the submission made by Nataraj. 

"This is indeed a case where grave irregularities have been done by the police and the fundamental rights of the respondent under Article 21 have been inter alia violated," he said. 

After hearing the rival submissions, the bench said, "We are of the opinion that although this matter springs from a complaint at the hands of the foreign nationals who were at one time patients of the respondent but thereafter it may have taken a course in utter violation of the Constitution and the laws and therefore an independent investigation is indeed required to clear all doubts as to the allegations as they relate to personal liberty of a citizen."

The bench directed the CBI to find out whether the respondent was detained/arrested by the Chandigarh Police on October 06, 2021 lodged at Police Station Sector 19, Chandigarh and produced before the local Magistrate within 24 hours of his detention/arrest.

It also ordered the CBI to ascertain whether the detention or arrest of the respondent by the police officials amounted to abduction.