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TMI Blog2012 (7) TMI 1107X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to be recorded which disclose that a lady named Surjaben widow of Badharsinh @ Babarsinh Chauhan aged approximately 80 years filed a criminal complaint before the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (JMIC) , Valod in Gujarat being case No.3/2004 against the appellants alleging inter - alia that the husband of the complainant namely Badharsinh @ Babarsinh Ratnaji Chauhan had expired on 10.6.1967 and after his death and death of other brothers of the husband of the complainant, name of the complainant got entered in the revenue record. However, when the complainant obtained a copy of the revenue record in respect of the aforesaid land, she came to know that one Satyajitbhai Ballubhai Desai forged and created a bogus power of attorney at the instance of the owner of the property in the name of one Jaydipbhai Ranchhodbhai Solanki who is a fictitious person and on the basis of the bogus and fabricated power of attorney, he got executed a registered sale deed on 2.8.2003 in favour of a 3rd party without the knowledge of the complainant. The learned Magistrate sent the matter for investigation to the police which registered it as Talod M.Case No.1/2004. 4. The complainant apart from filing t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on 29.3.2011, filed an application before the Judicial Magistrate First Class,Valod Court, Valod seeking police remand of the appellants for seven days in connection with M.Case No.1/2004 based on the complaint of the complainant lady - Surjaben which had been registered with the Valod Police Station on the basis of the complaint lodged for offences under Section 406, 420, 467,468, 471, 504, 506 (2) and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and had been withdrawn but was later revived as stated hereinbefore. 7. The prayer made by the Dy. S.P. in the application seeking police remand for three days was partly allowed by the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Valod permitting police remand of the appellants for three days against which the appellants moved the High Court whereby a stay against the order of police remand was passed in favour of the appellants herein. However, when the matter was heard finally, the High Court upheld the order passed by the magistrate permitting police remand of the appellants for a period of three days in view of the investigation which was conducted in regard to the case lodged by the complainant-Surjaben, finally giving rise to a cas ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... limited purposes only as the necessities of the case may require. The scheme of Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 is unambiguous in this regard and is intended to protect the accused from the methods which may be adopted by some overzealous and unscrupulous police officers which at times may be at the instance of an interested party also. But it is also equally true that the police custody although is not the be-all and end-all of the whole investigation, yet it is one of its primary requisites particularly in the investigation of serious and heinous crimes. The Legislature also noticed this and, has therefore, permitted limited police custody. 11. It may, therefore, be noted that Article 22 (2) of the Constitution of India and Section 57 of the Cr.P.C. gives a mandate that every person who is arrested and detained in police custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person can be detained in the police custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate. These two provisions clearl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r.P.C., he should be produced before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours as mentioned therein. Such Magistrate may or may not have jurisdiction to try the case. This position was further enunciated upon in Chaganti Narayan Satyanarayan & Ors Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh (1986 AIR 2130) wherein it was held that the terms of sub section (1) of Section 167 have to be read in conjunction with Section 57 which interdicts a police officer from keeping in custody a person without warrant for a longer period than 24 hours without production before a Magistrate, subject to the exception that the time taken for performing journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate's court can be excluded from the prescribed period of 24 hours. Since sub section (1) provides that if the investigation cannot be completed within the period of 24 hours fixed by Section 57 the accused has to be forwarded to the Magistrate alongwith the entries in the Diary, it follows that a police officer is entitled to keep an arrested person in custody for a maximum period of 24 hours for purposes of investigation. In the landmark judgement of C.B.I. Vs. Anupam J. Kulkarni (1992) 3 SCC 141, it was held that the law d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er cannot be examined herein by us. 15. However, even if the revival of the investigation was rightly or wrongly justified, the High Court as also the Magistrate lost sight of an important factor which is the order of the High Court granting bail to the appellants on 23.3.2011 which clearly had a bearing on the plea seeking police remand. When the appellants were enlarged on bail vide order dated 23.3.2011, it was incumbent upon the magistrate to meticulously examine the facts and circumstance as to whether it was so grave which persuaded the police authorities only after six days to file an application seeking police remand of the appellants for seven days by filing an application on 29.3.2011 which was allowed by the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Valod by order dated 31.3.2011 as apparently the same is beyond comprehension since no reason had been assigned. It is thus obvious that an extremely casual approach has been adopted by the Judicial Magistrate permitting such police remand overlooking the legal position and yet the High Court has also confirmed it overlooking and ignoring two very important aspects - first one being that the complainant althou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate as also the High Court appears to have adopted a casual or a mechanical approach permitting police remand of the appellants without scrutinizing the reasons ignoring the fact that the appellants had already been enlarged on bail by the High Court and the dispute with the complainant Surjaben who had lodged the complaint had already been settled. Thus, the existing facts and circumstance prima facie were clearly not so grave or extraordinary justifying police remand which could have been overlooked by the High Court even though it was for three days only as it was bound to have ramification not only affecting the liberty of the person who was already granted bail but also the magistrate nullifying the order of the High Court granting bail even if it was for a period of three days only. In fact when the accused had been enlarged on bail by the High Court, it was all the more essential initially for the police authorities and thereafter by the magistrate to disclose and assign convincing reasons why investigation could not proceed further without seeking police remand of the accused and in case police remand was sought on any ground of interference with the investigation in any ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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