Delhi High Court raps police for failure to identify body recovered in 2018, grants bail to murder accused

The Delhi High Court recently reprimanded the Delhi Police for its failure to identify a dead body recovered in 2018, and proceeded to grant bail to the accused in the case whose statement had led to a bag allegedly used to dispose of the body [Manjeet Karketta Vs State Govt of NCT of Delhi]..Justice Girish Kathpalia observed that the investigation in the case has shocked the conscience of the court and questioned the lack of supervision exercised by senior police officers in the matter."To say the least, investigation in this case shocks conscience of this court....It is extremely saddening that a human being lost life in such gruesome manner and the body was cut into pieces way back in the year 2018 but till date even identity of the deceased has not been established," it added.The Court opined that merely for such reason, the accused cannot be deprived of his liberty any further..The accused Manjeet Karketta was arrested in May 2018 for the gruesome murder of one Soni alias Chhoti. However, shockingly, Soni was subsequently found alive and dead body remained unidentified till date. Karketta was chargesheeted in 2018 and as many as four supplementary chargesheets were filed..Karketta's counsel called it a fit case for bail, arguing that till date, nobody knows who he had killed. On the contrary, the prosecution said the evidence of "last seen" connects the accused to the murder and that his location was also found to be at the place of occurrence. It was also submitted that the police at the instance of the accused had discovered the bag in which the dead body of the victim was disposed of. Further, the Court was also told that accused was previously involved in a theft case..After considering the arguments, the Court said it was a case of circumstantial evidence where the police till date has failed to point out Karketta's motive for the alleged murder. “As mentioned above, this is a case of circumstantial evidence. Motive is one of the important sequences in the chain of circumstantial evidence. Motive, by its very nature would be connected with the deceased. Till date, deceased has not been identified. As regards the “last seen” hypothesis, the said last seen was with Soni @ Chhoti, who has been found to be alive,” the Court said..Accordingly, the Court granted bail to the accused and ordered his immediate release from the jail. “It is directed that the accused/applicant be released forthwith on bail subject to his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 10,000/- with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court,” the Court directed..Advocate Sundeshwar Lal appeared for the accused. Additional Public Prosecutor Nawal Kishore Jha appeared for the State.[Read Order]