The Allahabad High Court has recently instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to launch an investigation into the death of a woman residing in Seattle, USA.
This directive was issued by a bench comprising Justices Vivek Kumar Birla and Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal, in response to a petition filed by the woman’s mother, who suspects foul play in her daughter’s death.
In the court’s order dated September 21, it was observed that while there was no legal need for state government consent to proceed with an investigation under Section 188 of the Criminal Procedure Code (pertaining to offences committed outside India), both the CBI and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) were avoiding accountability.
The court criticized the CBI and DoPT for raising unnecessary technical objections and failing to take concrete steps to investigate the death. It stated, “The CBI and DoPT are shifting the responsibility to each other instead of acting promptly in investigating the petitioner’s daughter’s death in the United States.”
According to the mother, her daughter had married on November 27, 2020, and later moved to the US with her husband. The daughter tragically died in an explosion at their residence. Upon receiving the news, the mother lodged a First Information Report (FIR) with the local police in Meerut on September 28, 2023, accusing her son-in-law of dowry-related death. The FIR was subsequently forwarded to the MHA.
On October 15, 2023, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Meerut, submitted a report recommending a CBI investigation, given the suspicious circumstances surrounding the woman’s death abroad. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the case, the mother sought intervention from the High Court.
(With inputs from agency)
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