The High Court of Karnataka has said that the video footage from November, 2022, recorded in the CCTV systems installed in the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) offices in Bengaluru can be collected or retrieved, if still available, and produced before the special court for NIA cases in BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru’s murder case.
The court directed its Computer Cell head and staff to visit the offices of the FSL and NIA to find out whether footage was still available, and if available, be brought before the special court in a sealed cover.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar and Justice G. Basavaraja issued the direction while disposing of a petition filed by Mohammed Shiyab, the prime accused in the case.
The petitioner had sought direction from the special court to summon the footage of CCTV and call details records of the NIA officers while pointing out that Mohammed Jabir, accused number 18, had made an allegation that NIA officers had ill-treated and tortured him at FSL office and NIA office on specific dates during November 2022 compelling him to give a confession statement.
However, the Special Court rejected his plea while stating that Jabir’s ill-treatment by NIA officers are ‘baseless and false’ as he had not made such allegations, despite the court’s repeated enquires in this regard, whenever he was regularly produced before the court during November 2022.
The Special Court also noted that Jabir had given a voluntary statement under Section 164 of the Cr.PC after making it clear before it that he was willing to record his statement, and the magistrate had recorded the statement when he was in judicial custody and not when under NIA custody. The Special Court also noted that Jabir made an allegation of ill-treatment by NIA officials after three months, that is in February 2023 when he was being shifted to another jail from Bengaluru prison.
‘To obviate impression’
Though the Bench concurred with the findings of the Special Court, it said that it was asking for retrieving of footage “to obviate the impression that the petitioner is carrying that the investigation is tainted and production of CCTV footage would disclose ill-treatment, if any.”
Pointing out that it was Jabir who could have sought for production of footage on alleged ill-treatment, the Bench said it has considered the petitioner’s plea for production of footage since the statement given by Jabir under Section 164 Cr.PC may affect the interest of petitioner, who is accused number 1 in the case.
Meanwhile, the Bench rejected the plea for production of call detail records of NIA officials while observing that it is barred under Section 124 and 126 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, as the telephonic conversations between the NIA officers may contain official communications about which secrecy and confidentiality are to be maintained.
The petitioner had claimed that NIA office is equipped with night vision cameras and facility to store footage for three months. The NIA had said that footage may not be available now.
