Quick Summary: Mrs. Gerosa Sebastian asked the court to make the police start an investigation into her sister-in-law's mysterious death. The court turned down her request, suggesting she try other legal methods first.
Mrs. Gerosa Sebastian, a 78-year-old housewife, wanted the court to order the police to start an investigation. She believed her sister-in-law, Mrs. Teresa D Cruze, died under mysterious circumstances. Her complaint, made on November 28, 2016, was ignored by the police. She felt this was unfair and against the rules.
“...the inaction of official respondents in not registering the case... as being Illegal, Arbitrary, Unconstitutional...” - Mrs. Gerosa Sebastian
Judge N. Tukaramji explained that the law usually doesn’t allow such requests. The Supreme Court has said that if the police don’t start an investigation, there are other steps to take before going to the High Court.
The court referred to the Supreme Court's decision in Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P., which says that going to the High Court isn’t the first step when an investigation isn’t started. The right move is to follow the steps in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C).
The court also mentioned other cases like Govind Raju Sami v. State of Telangana and M. Subramaniam v. S. Janaki, reinforcing the idea that Mrs. Sebastian should first try other legal options.
Judge Tukaramji concluded that Mrs. Sebastian's request couldn’t be accepted because she didn’t show any special reasons to skip the usual legal process. The court rejected the request, advising her to try other legal options.
“The scheme of law provides adequate and effective remedies... which the petitioner is at liberty to pursue...” - Judge N. Tukaramji
Mrs. Sebastian still has options. She can approach a Magistrate or follow other procedures outlined in the law. The court made it clear that these steps are important and should be taken first.
