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2017 (2) TMI 1539 - SC - Indian LawsScope and purport of Section 173(8) Code of Criminal Procedure - High Court interfered with the order of the Magistrate permitting further investigation by the police in the case and ordered for expeditious disposal of the trial. Whether it was permissible for the investigating officer or the officer-in-charge of the police station to undertake a further investigation even after the filing of the charge sheet? HELD THAT:- It noted as well that Under Section 173(2)(i), the officer in-charge, as soon as the investigation is completed, is required to forward to the Magistrate empowered, a report in the prescribed form so as to enable the Court to take cognizance of the offence based thereon. This Court also adverted to Section 190 enumerating the modes of taking cognizance of an offence by a Magistrate, as specified therein, either upon receiving a complaint of facts which constituted such offence or upon a police report of such facts or upon information received from any person other than a police officer or upon his own knowledge that such offence had been committed. In the conspectus of the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure traversed, this Court held the view that an informant who lodges the first information report does not fade away therewith and is very much concerned with the action initiated by the officer in-charge of the police station pursuant thereto, so much so, that not only a copy of the said report is to be supplied to him free of cost and in case, no investigation is intended, he has to be notified of such decision. The reason, in the contemplation of this Court, for the officer in-charge of a police station to communicate the action taken by him to the informant and a report to the Magistrate Under Section 173(2) Code of Criminal Procedure was that the informant, who sets the machinery of investigation into motion, was required to know what was the result of the exercise initiated on the basis thereof, as he would be vitally interested therein and hence, the obligations cast by law on the officer in-charge. This Court recounted its observations in Ram Lal Narang [1979 (1) TMI 241 - SUPREME COURT] to the effect that on the Magistrate taking cognizance upon a police report, the right of the police to further investigate even under the 1898 Code was not exhausted and it could exercise such right often as necessary, when fresh information would come to light. That this proposition was integrated in explicit terms in Sub-section (8) of Section 173 of the new Code, was noticed. The desirability of the police to ordinarily inform the Court and seek its formal permission to make further investigation, when fresh facts come to light, was stressed upon to maintain the independence of the judiciary, the interest of the purity of administration of criminal justice and the interest of the comity of the various agencies and institutions entrusted with different stages of such dispensation. After referring to Section 156(3) in particular and Section 190 Code of Criminal Procedure, this Court reverted to Section 173 and ruled that a very wide power was vested in the investigating agency to conduct further investigation after it had filed its report in terms of Sub-section (2) thereof. It held on an elucidation of the contents of Section 173(8) that the investigating agency was thus competent to file a report supplementary to its primary report and that the former was to be treated by the Court in continuation of the latter, and that on an examination thereof and following the application of mind, it ought to proceed to hear the case in the manner prescribed. It was elaborated that after taking cognizance of the offence, the next step was to frame charge in terms of Section 228 of the Code unless the Court found, upon consideration of the record of the case and the documents submitted therewith, that there did exist no sufficient ground to proceed against the accused, in which case it would discharge him on reasons to be recorded in terms of Section 227 of the Code - The view of this Court in AMIT KAPOOR VERSUS RAMESH CHANDER & ANR. [2014 (1) TMI 1042 - SUPREME COURT] underlining the obligation of the Court to consider the record of the case and the documents submitted therewith to form an opinion as to whether there did exist or not any sufficient ground to proceed against an Accused was underlined. From the issues sought to be answered in this decision and having regard to the overall text thereof, it is not possible to discern that the power of the Magistrate, even at the post cognizance stage or after the Accused had appeared in response to the process issued, the suo motu power of the Magistrate to direct further investigation was intended to be expounded thereby. Significantly, the adjudication was essentially related to the pre-cognizance stage. On an overall survey of the pronouncements of this Court on the scope and purport of Section 173(8) of the Code and the consistent trend of explication thereof, we are thus disposed to hold that though the investigating agency concerned has been invested with the power to undertake further investigation desirably after informing the Court thereof, before which it had submitted its report and obtaining its approval, no such power is available therefor to the learned Magistrate after cognizance has been taken on the basis of the earlier report, process has been issued and Accused has entered appearance in response thereto - the un-amended and the amended Sub-section (8) of Section 173 of the Code if read in juxtaposition, would overwhelmingly attest that by the latter, the investigating agency/officer alone has been authorized to conduct further investigation without limiting the stage of the proceedings relatable thereto. This power qua the investigating agency/officer is thus legislatively intended to be available at any stage of the proceedings. The recommendation of the Law Commission in its 41st Report which manifesting heralded the amendment, significantly had limited its proposal to the empowerment of the investigating agency alone. The direction for investigation by the Magistrate Under Section 202, while dealing with a complaint, though is at a post-cognizance stage, it is in the nature of an inquiry to derive satisfaction as to whether the proceedings initiated ought to be furthered or not. Such a direction for investigation is not in the nature of further investigation, as contemplated Under Section 173(8) of the Code. If the power of the Magistrate, in such a scheme envisaged by the Code of Criminal Procedure to order further investigation even after the cognizance is taken, Accused persons appear and charge is framed, is acknowledged or approved, the same would be discordant with the state of law - Not only such power to the Magistrate to direct further investigation suo motu or on the request or prayer of the complainant/informant after cognizance is taken and the Accused person appears, pursuant to the process, issued or is discharged is incompatible with the statutory design and dispensation, it would even otherwise render the provisions of Sections 311 and 319 Code of Criminal Procedure, whereunder any witness can be summoned by a Court and a person can be issued notice to stand trial at any stage, in a way redundant. Appeal dismissed.
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