DailyPost 2792
VITIATING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
The cocktail of grapevine, with calibrated use of media and endless clutter, which operates as a dynamic smokescreen to leave you completely lost, is the public domain criminal investigation. Not mandated by any law and not having any responsibility or accountability, they unleash a barrage of information on the people at large, which treats it as an investigation. They also behave like one. The aim is to vitiate the criminal investigation as much as they can, and get a mileage out of proving oneself innocent or proving the opponent criminal.
The media story, sometimes called a the media trial decides it all. But in today’s day and age it has crossed the copybook media trail by miles. The current cocktail would have to be seen to be believed and more often than not, you would not be able to reach even the surface of the conspiracy: the conspiracy to vitiate criminal investigation. Just think of the well orchestrated cases of vitiating criminal investigation pertaining to 2G and ColaGate. What did it result in? Who gained? And then on the final legal parameter, what happened to the case? What about the person who originated the audit report? Notional loss as claimed later has been able to change the fate of this country.
The damage is fully done, by vitiating criminal investigation to an extent that the real investigation is left with no value. At least public interest is completely lost. Losses and gains are already settled. In such a scenario, there is a need for the investigation agency to give timely updates, so that the damage is contained. This does not in any way mean divulging critical confidential investigative facts. Criminal investigation has a structure, legal enablement and process. When this was codified, it was a different world. The will and capability to vitiate was hardly there. Multimedia content with instant and blitzkrieg dissemination, has changed the rules of any game.
While the investigation is on, in the public domain, one video against the other, information leaks et al., keep playing in full public display. In general, bail is not granted if there is likelihood of tampering of evidence, then what is this? Is it assisting the investigation, which everyone is legally bound to do. Today, it’s not only the goalpost that needs to be guarded, the football field has to be secured, and that too legally. Good behaviour and self restraint is the last thing one should expect from anyone, who comes under the purview of criminal investigation. All this is outside of the time tested methods of tampering with evidence in a variety of ways, scaring or buying over witnesses, or witnesses turning hostile at a later stage and many more. The conviction rate manifests it all. How do we even expect a reasonable delivery of justice, even if it is not comprehensive, in the current vitiated ecosystem?
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION NEEDS AN ECOSYSTEM OF LEGAL SANITY AND SUPPORT.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.