On December 23, the single judge bench of the Gujarat High Court led by Justice Amir J. Dave directed the state Home Secretary and Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad, to look into the conduct of the officer. The court deplored the investigating officer's excessive haste in which he first filed a deletion report, then a C summary report, and finally the chargesheet in the case relating to the deaths of seven workers at a construction site in Ahmedabad last year.

"This action of the Investigating Officer Shri V. J. Jadeja, Police Inspector, University Police Station, Ahmedabad City is unwarranted and he should have to wait for few days more if he has concluded the investigation and also about to file final report. This glaring undue haste seems to help the accused and it is required to be taken very seriously," said the court. 

The panel noted that the investigating officer had submitted a report to the relevant trial court on September 29, 2022, asking for the deletion of Section 304 and the addition of Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code. On November 4, 2022, the trial court permitted the addition of Section 304A of the IPC but rejected the request to strike Section 304 from the FIR. 

It further mentioned that the trial court had rejected the "C" summary report that the investigating officer had submitted on November 5 on the violation of Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Final Report in the FIR for the offences punishable under Sections 304, 304A, and 114 of the Indian Penal Code was later filed by the IO on 14.11.2022. 

The bench also took note of the fact that, following the completion of the final report, the petitioners had already filed bail requests with the court of Sessions, which had rejected them on the grounds that, prima facie, an offence punishable under Section 304 of the IPC had been committed and that the charge sheet's filing had not altered the situation enough for the court to proceed differently.

Angered by the IO's strategy in the case, the court ruled that he had displayed "glaring undue haste" and issued the following instruction:

"The Secretary, Home Department, Gandhinagar and Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad is directed to look into the matter and take necessary steps in the present conduct of Shri V. J. Jadeja, Police Inspector, University Police Station, Ahmedabad."

The instructions were given by a judge who was deliberating on a bail plea related to an Indian Penal Code offence reported to Gujarat University Police Station in Ahmedabad under Sections 304, 304A, and 114. 

In September 2022, seven workers at a building site lost their lives. The police quoted witnesses who said that no safety precautions were taken at the scene. The trial judge had noted that the labourers were not equipped with enough safety equipment and that the accused knew that a person could die in the event that he fell from the building's 14th story while granting bail to the accused.

Case Title: SAURABHBHAI KAMLESHKUMAR SHAH Vs STATE OF GUJARAT
Citation: R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 22476 of 2022

Link: https://gujarathc-casestatus.nic.in/gujarathc/#:~:text=Y-,download,-Connected%20Matters"Download"