Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:7214-DB Court No. - 9 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 917 of 2025 Petitioner :- Raju Khan Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home And Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Dhananjai Kumar Tripathi,Nitin Verma Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J. Hon'ble Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned A.G.A. for the State/respondent. 2. The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner with the following relief :- (i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of 'MANDAMUS' thereby commanding and directing the opposite parties specially opposite party no. 2 to transfer the investigation of Case Crime No. 015/2025, Under Section-303(2), 317(2) BNS, which has been lodged by the opposite party no.4 against the unknown persons on 13.01.2025 at Police Station- Hardattnagar Girant, District- Shrawasti to any other independent investigating agency, in the interest of justice. 3. Having regard to the prayer made in this petition regarding conduct of investigation in a fair and impartial manner, we deem it appropriate to refer to para no.107 of U.P. Police Regulation, which is quoted hereinbelow :- 107. Duties of an Investigating Officer.- An investigating officer is not to regard himself as a mere clerk for the recording of statements. It is his duty to observe and to infer. In every case he must use his own expert observations of the scene of the offence and of the general circumstances to check the evidence of witnesses, and in cases in which the culprits are unknown to determine the direction in which he shall look for them. He must study the methods of local offenders who are known to the police with a view to recognizing their handiwork, and he must be on his guard against accepting the suspicions of witness and complainants when they conflict with obvious inferences from facts. He must remember that it is his duty to find out the truth and not merely to obtain convictions. He must not prematurely commit himself to any view of the facts for or against any person and though he need not go out of his way to hunt up evidence for the defence in a case in which he has satisfactory grounds for believing that an accused person is guilty, he must always give accused persons an opportunity of producing defence evidence before him, and must consider such evidence carefully if produced. Burglary investigations should be conducted in accordance with the special orders on the subject. 4. Fair investigation is guaranteed by Article 20 and 21 of The Constitution of India. Therefore, investigation must be fair, transparent and judicious as it is the minimum requirement of rule of law. The investigating agency cannot be permitted to conduct an investigation in a tainted and biased manner. The investigating officer "is not merely to bolster up a prosecution case with such evidence as may enable the court to record a conviction but to bring out the real unvarnished truth as held by Hon'ble Supreme Court in Babubhai v. State of Gujarat, (2010) 12 SCC 254. 5. This is no more res integra that the accused has no say as regards the manner and method of investigation as held by Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India v. W.N. Chadha, 1993 Supp (4) SCC 260. 6. We may also refer to a judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court rendered in CBI v. Rajesh Gandhi, (1996) 11 SCC 253 wherein it has been held that the decision to investigate or the decision on the agency which should investigate, does not attract principles of natural justice. The accused cannot have a say in who should investigate the offences he is charged with. 7. In view of the aforesaid overall observations, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the Investigating Officer to strictly adhere to para no.107 of U.P. Police Regulation and also what has been held by Hon'ble Supreme Court in Babubhai (Supra). Order Date :- 4.2.2025 A.Dewal Digitally signed by :- ASHISH DEWAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench