The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged suicide of senior Haryana-cadre IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar. The court, presided over by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry, stated that there was no basis to transfer the investigation, as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was already conducting the probe.
Y. Puran Kumar was found dead at his private residence in Chandigarh on October 7, over a month before the court's decision, with a gunshot wound. Authorities recovered his service weapon, an eight-page "final note," and a will from the scene.
The PIL, filed by a Ludhiana resident claiming to be a public-spirited citizen, alleged that the investigation into Kumar's "mysterious" death had not progressed, as none of the senior officers named in the suicide note had been questioned. The petitioner sought a CBI probe to restore public confidence. The plea also cited concerns over the impartiality of the ongoing Chandigarh Police-led inquiry. The petitioner argued that one of the officials conducting the investigation had also committed suicide, which had shaken the conscience of society. They added that senior officials were committing suicide and alleging victimization, naming more than a dozen senior IPS and IAS officers, making it a matter of concern that a central agency should investigate fairly.
However, the High Court noted that the SIT, headed by the Inspector General of Chandigarh Police, was promptly formed on October 10, three days after Kumar's death. The court observed, "From the aforesaid, it does not appear that there is any unnecessary delay or laxity in the conduct of the investigation. In view of the above, no case for handing over the investigation to any independent agency is made out".
Senior Advocate Amit Jhanji, representing UT Chandigarh, informed the court that 14 persons have been arrayed as accused in the case. He stated that the SIT had already examined 22 witnesses, all of whose statements were videographed, and that CCTV footage and relevant evidence were in police custody. All forensic data related to the case had been sent for analysis. Jhanji also called the PIL a "publicity stunt" lacking bona fides.
The petitioner had attempted to link the case with another alleged suicide of an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Haryana and sought an investigation into that as well, but the court directed him to remain confined to the current matter.
Kumar’s suicide note reportedly blamed various officers, including Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and then Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya. He also alleged caste-based discrimination and harassment. The plea stated that the death of such a high-ranking public servant under deeply mysterious and disturbing circumstances has sent shockwaves across the nation, eroding public confidence in the internal accountability mechanisms of the civil services. It further added that the recovery of multiple suicide notes, one allegedly written nearly a month in advance, explicitly naming eight IPS and two IAS officers as responsible for his death, points to a grave possibility of systemic abetment, caste-based persecution, and criminal conspiracy within the very institutional framework he served.
