TMI Blog2000 (4) TMI 846X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s exception is that Public Prosecutor may have to deal with bail applications moved by the parties concerned at any stage. Involving the Public Prosecutor in investigation is unjudicious as well as pernicious in law. At any rate no investigating agency can be compelled to seek opinion of a Public Prosecutor under the orders of court. Here is a case wherein the investigation officer concerned is directed by the High Court to take back the case from the court whereat it was laid by him after completing the investigation and he is further directed to consult the Public Prosecutor and submit a fresh charge- sheet in tune with the opinion of the Public Prosecutor. Is such a course permissible in law? A summary of the factual background of thi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ncerned court. Appellant's father (V. Ramalingam) on coming to know of the said order filed a petition before the learned Single Judge for recalling it on the main ground that neither he nor his daughter (appellant) was heard nor were they made parties in the proceedings. But the learned Single Judge dismissed the petition on the main premise that Section 362 of the Code contains a bar against recalling any order passed under the Code. Hence the appellant filed this appeal in challenge of both the orders. No endeavour was made before us to canvass against the correctness of the view adopted by the learned Single Judge that the order dated 8.2.1999 could not be recalled by him due to the bar contained in Section 362 of the Code. B ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y any person (other than a Magistrate) who is authorised by a Magistrate in this behalf. We are only concerned in this case with the investigation to be conducted by a police officer and hence the latter limb of the definition has no relevance now. Chapter XII of the Code contains provisions regarding information to the police and their powers to investigate . After dealing with various aspects of the investigation from Section 154 to Section 168 of the Code, the statute says in the next two sections regarding the subsequent step. Section 169 of the Code enjoins on the officer in charge of the police station concerned to release the accused from custody on executing a bond if it appears to him that there is no sufficient evidence or r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed out that the formation of the opinion, whether or not there is a case to place the accused on trial, should be that of the officer in charge of the police station and none else. Following observations are to be noted in this context: The scheme of the Code also shows that while it is permissible for an officer in charge of police station to depute some subordinate officer to conduct some of these steps in the investigation, the responsibility for every one of these steps is that of the person in the situation of the officer in charge of the police station, it having been clearly provided in section 168 that he should report the result to the officer in charge of the police station. It is also clear that the final step in the investig ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... wing the above, a two Judge Bench of this Court has stated in Abhinanadan Jha vs. Dinesh Mishra(AIR 1968 SC 117) as follows: We have already pointed out that the investigation, under the Code, takes in several aspects, and stages, ending ultimately with the formation of an opinion by the police as to whether, on the material covered and collected a case is made out to place the accused before the Magistrate for trial, and the submission of either a charge- sheet, or a final report is dependent on the nature of the opinion, so formed. The formation of the said opinion, by the police, as pointed out earlier, is the final step in the investigation, and that final step is to be taken only by the police and by no other authority. In this ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... SCC 226] a three-judge bench of this court after quoting the above passage has stated: There can hardly be any doubt that obligation of the police in our constitutional scheme is no less. In State vs. Raj Kumar Jain [1998(6) SCC 551] a two judge bench considered the legality of an order passed by a Special Judge before whom the CBI filed final report in respect of a junior engineer who was pitted against offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI in the report held that the allegations made against him were unsubstantiated. But the Special Judge declined to accept the said report as in his opinion the CBI should have taken the view of the Sanctioning Authority. So the Special Judge directed the CBI to conduct further i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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