Custodial death : SC gives CBI three more months to probe

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted three more months to the Central Bureau of Investigation to complete its probe into the circumstances leading to the custodial death of a 34-year-old man in Chhattisgarh in 2024.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted that in its sealed cover report, the agency has sought more time to take the investigation to its logical conclusion. On August 12, the top court had ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of Shravan Suryavanshi, who was lodged in Bilaspur Central Jail when he died in 2024, and directed the state to pay compensation of Rs 25 lakh to his wife and children.

The court had also asked the CBI director to ensure that a regular criminal case was registered against those responsible for his death. On Tuesday, the bench granted three months to the probe agency to complete the investigation and posted the matter for further hearing on February 2. Slamming the Chhattisgarh authorities on August 12, the apex court had said the explanation offered that neither any police action nor any disciplinary action was taken against those responsible because the judicial inquiry report had not been served upon the police officials was a “cover-up story and an attempt to pull the wool over the court’s eyes”.

It had said the facts warranted the immediate registration of an FIR and a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to Suryavanshi’s death, which the state authorities conveniently and deliberately tried to cover up. “In the facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the firm opinion that the ends of justice require that the investigation into the circumstances leading to the custodial death of Shravan be entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation and that all officials found responsible for the custodial violence, upon completion of the investigation, be proceeded against and prosecuted in accordance with law,” the top court had said.