The Supreme Court on Thursday strongly criticised the Delhi Police for failing to invoke the offence of attempt to murder in an FIR registered over the alleged assault on Supreme Court Advocate Pankaj Sharma and directed that the investigation be transferred from the local police to the Delhi Crime Branch.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana also ordered the inclusion of offences relating to attempt to murder and grievous hurt under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), observing that the nature of the attack and the injuries sustained on a vital part of the victim’s body prima facie warranted a more serious penal provision.
The Court passed the directions while disposing of Sharma’s writ petition, in which he had sought transfer of the investigation to an independent agency, police protection for himself and his family, addition of appropriate penal provisions in the FIR, and a fresh medical examination.
The Bench observed that considering the injuries allegedly inflicted on the victim’s head, the investigating agency ought to have registered the case by invoking the offence of attempt to murder, subject to the final outcome of the investigation. The Court accordingly directed the Delhi Police to add Sections 109 and 118 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to the FIR and clarified that any other appropriate offences could also be incorporated if warranted by the evidence collected during the investigation.
The Supreme Court further directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to immediately transfer the investigation to the Crime Branch after serious allegations were made that local police officials had attempted to pressure the complainant into entering a compromise with the accused. The Bench also continued the protection earlier granted to the petitioner during the pendency of the investigation.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Sharma, argued that the victim had suffered a brutal assault resulting in deep head injuries requiring eight stitches, yet the police had treated the incident as one involving simple injuries. He submitted that the local police had failed to invoke appropriate penal provisions despite the gravity of the attack and alleged that the accused, who is the president of the Resident Welfare Association of the colony, was politically influential and was being protected by the police.
Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa also submitted that the accused was allegedly being shielded by the local police, while Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave highlighted that the victim was a regular practitioner before the Supreme Court.
Justice Bagchi observed that in offences involving an alleged attempt to murder, the intention of the accused assumes greater significance than the ultimate gravity or classification of the injury. The Bench noted that an assault directed at a vital part of the body could attract the offence of attempt to murder even if the injury itself was not ultimately categorised as grievous.
Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the Court that he had advised the Delhi Police to shift the victim to a government hospital for an independent medico-legal examination, stating that a fresh medical assessment would objectively determine the nature of the injuries and enable the investigating agency to modify the charges, if necessary. He submitted that reliance solely on the medical opinion of a private hospital might not be sufficient for the purposes of the criminal investigation.
The matter had first come before the Supreme Court on July 14 after it was urgently mentioned by Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, who expressed concern over the alleged attack on the advocate. At that stage, the Court had sought a status report from the Delhi Police and directed that adequate measures be taken to ensure the life and liberty of the petitioner.
According to the writ petition, Sharma, who has been practising before the Supreme Court for more than two decades, was allegedly attacked inside his residence in Delhi on July 11 by multiple persons who repeatedly struck his head against an iron gate, causing severe bleeding and requiring eight stitches. He alleged that the accused were politically connected and that one of them claimed that no action would be taken against him because of his influence.
The petition further alleged that the Delhi Police initially refused to register an FIR and subsequently registered a case only for simple assault despite the seriousness of the injuries. It also accused the police of deliberately omitting offences relating to attempt to murder and grievous hurt under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and later attempting to persuade the victim to settle the dispute.
Sharma further claimed that the accused returned to his residence the following day and threatened him and his family to withdraw the complaint, while the police allegedly failed to provide adequate protection or take effective action.
The petition also relied on a resolution passed by the Supreme Court Bar Association condemning the assault and seeking immediate intervention by the Delhi Police Commissioner. Accepting the concerns raised regarding the fairness of the investigation, the Supreme Court transferred the probe to the Crime Branch and directed that the investigation proceed independently while ensuring the victim’s safety.
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