SC Stays HC Order Mandating IPS For Serious Crime Probes

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a direction issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court that had mandated formation of a Serious Crimes Investigation Supervising Team in each district, headed by a senior IPS officer, to oversee all investigations into serious crimes.

A bench comprising Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh observed that while the High Court’s intention was to curb careless or negligent investigations, a blanket requirement for senior IPS-level oversight was not practically viable given manpower constraints.

The court directed the government to submit a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) within three weeks. The SOP is to strike a balance between achieving the High Court’s goal of improving the quality of investigations and ensuring efficient deployment of limited senior-level officers.

“The State of Madhya Pradesh is directed to furnish the Standard Operative Procedure within three weeks, without prejudice to their rights and contentions, to achieve the object which the High Court sought to achieve, while at the same time ensuring that the available manpower among the senior-level officers is adequately apportioned and utilised,” the court stated.

Earlier, the High Court had directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure that investigations into serious crimes be supervised by a two-member team — comprising an experienced IPS officer and another officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector. The investigating officer would be required to regularly report to this team, receive guidance, and be held accountable along with the team for any lapses in the case.

However, Additional Advocate General Nachiketa Joshi, representing the State of Madhya Pradesh, told Free Press that the Supreme Court recognised practical limitations involved.

“The SC admitted that there are 63 districts and several senior posts are vacant. Under such circumstances, if IPS officers are pressed for investigation in criminal cases, it is not practically viable,” he said.