The Supreme Court has dismissed the Gujarat police over two decades of delay in investigating land scams

The Supreme Court on Thursday (June 4, 2026) observed that “inordinate delay” in investigations exemplified the principle that justice delayed is justice denied. | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Supreme Court on Thursday (June 4, 2026) pulled up the Gujarat police for failing to file charges in a two-decade-old criminal complaint containing allegations of forgery and manipulation of revenue records, saying constitutional courts cannot remain “mute spectators” to such a lengthy investigation and must step in to provide relief. The court directed the Gujarat police to complete the investigation within six weeks.

A Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih observed that the “inordinate delay” in the investigation exemplified the principle that justice delayed is justice denied.

“The right to a speedy trial is intrinsically linked to Article 21 of the Constitution. In the present facts, almost two decades have passed since the complaint was filed by the original complainant. However, it is a matter of serious concern that despite such an disproportionately long period of investigation, it has not reached any meaningful conclusion when the Constitutional Court does not have such a long investigation before the court.” their notice,” the Bench said.

The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal by a man whose father filed a criminal complaint that four people had forged his signature and executed fabricated property documents while he was away on a Haj pilgrimage in 2002. According to the complaint, the forged documents were later used to secure records in the revenue register.

Since 2014

In 2014, Gujarat Police submitted a report to the concerned court. The report was dismissed and further investigation was to be completed within 60 days. When there was no progress, the appellant approached the Gujarat High Court in 2017, which directed the investigating agency to conclude the investigation within six weeks. However, during the course of the proceedings, it emerged that evidence collected during the investigation had disappeared while in police custody.

As the investigation was still ongoing, the appellant again approached the Gujarat High Court in 2022 and asked the police to file a charge sheet. However, the High Court refused to issue any such direction and dismissed the plea saying that a similar application was pending before the trial court. Aggrieved by the order, the applicant appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court expressed serious reservations about the failure of the High Court to intervene despite the applicant having to “run from pillar to post” to file the charge sheet. She also criticized the Gujarat police for losing vital records of the case, noting that the lack of evidence effectively stalled the investigation.

“…we are of the view that incidents like this where case records are lost during active investigation should be taken with utmost seriousness. Moreover, such incidents go to the very core of the criminal justice system, making bona fide complaints ineffective,” the Bench said.

No closure message

The judges also pointed out that if the police were unable to complete the investigation due to lack of records, they should have submitted the final report to the relevant trial court instead of letting the matter go on for decades.

Accordingly, the Bench directed the police to complete the investigation within six weeks. It also urged the state government to file an affidavit detailing the disciplinary proceedings initiated against the dubious officials and explaining why the trial court was not informed that the missing records had hampered efforts to reconstruct the case and track down witnesses.

The court adjourned the matter for further hearing on July 14 to review compliance with its directions.

Published – 04 Jun 2026 19:33 IST