Police File

 Police File

Rule. 72. In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires......

 (a) 'Court Police Officer' means such police officer or staff as may be allotted to a court for presenting the police file or for assisting the court in the discharge of its duties.

(b) “Police file" means all the documents prepared and maintained by the Police in connection with the prevention or investigation of an offence against an accused or accuseds under the provisions of the Code or any other law and presented before a Magistrate for orders.

Rule. 73. (1) Subject to any rule or special order made by the Chief Judicial Magistrate under sub-section (2) of section 15 of the Code, Police file shall be put up before the sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate or the senior most Judicial Magistrate of the station by the court police officer concerned.

(2) In the metropolitan area of Calcutta the Police file shall be put up before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or, subject to any rule or special order made by him, before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

(3) The Police file shall be taken up at a fixed hour of every day convenient to the Magistrate.

(4) The hours required for the disposal of Police file shall be treated as Judicial work and those shall be noted in the count's diary.

Rule. 74. (1) Orders for remand under section 167 of the Code shall be made after exercising sound judicial discretion and such orders shall be made in the presence of the prisoner and after hearing any objection, if any, he may have make to the proposed order. 

 (2) The ground upon which the remand is needed shall be distinctly stated in the application to the Magistrate.

 (3) When further detention is considered necessary the remand should be for the shortest possible period depending on the nature of each case.

 (4) Application for remand to Police Custody shall be carefully scrutinised and in general should be granted if it is shown that such custody is necessary for the identification of any person, the discovery or identification of. any special reason.  

 (5) Applications for remand to police custody of a prisoner who has failed any property  to make the expected confession or statement shall not, as a general rule, be granted. 

 (6) In all cases when the Magistrate authorises the detention of a prisoner in police custody, he shall record his reasons for so doing and when any Magistrate other than the Chief Judicial Magistrate makes such an order, he shall forward a copy of his order, with his reasons for making it, to the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

(7) The Magistrates shall not pass orders remanding under trial prisoners to custody unless such prisoners have been actually produced before them on due dates.

COMMENTARY

Remand to police custody --

Remand of an accused to the police custody for the purpose of investigation may be allowed by the Magistrate on the prayer of the Investigating Officer on exercise of sound judicial discretion. Sub-section (3) of section 167, Criminal Procedure Code provides that the Magistrate permitting detention of an accused in police custody shall record reason in support of such order. Moreover, any Magistrate other than the Chief Judicial Magistrates making such order shall forward a copy of his order supported by his reasons to the Chief Judicial Magistrate. Order_remanding an accused to police custody without mentioning reasons in justification of the same is illegal-1982 Chand Cr C 443 : (1983) 9 Cr LT 291 (P & H). Magistrate must be satisfied that a good case for police remand is made out. An accused in judicial custody in any case may however be taken by police in police custody for investigation in another case in suitable cases, State of Rajasthan v. Sukh Singh, AIR 1954 Raj 290 ; State v. Nathuba, 1954 Cr LJ 574.

Order for remand to police custody shall be made in presence of the accused after hearing objection if any. The Magistrate should consult the police diary to be satisfied about the necessity of police remand-In the matter of Khairali, AIR 1931 Lab 476; Narendra Lal Khan v. Emperor, ILR 36 Cal 166. However, remand to police custody shall not be granted after an accused declines to make a confessional statement. It may be noted that when an accused is brought before the Magistrate for recording of confessional statement he is to cauti that he will not be sent to police custody if he refuses to make any confessional statement.

The words “15 days in the whole" occurring in sub-section (2) of section 167. Criminal Procedure Code would be tantamount to a period of 15 days at a time but subject to the condition that if the accused is to be remanded to police custody the remand should be for such period as is commensurate with the requirements of a case with provision for further extensions for restricted periods, if need be, but in no case should the total period of remand to police custody exceeds 15 days. So when an accused is already placed in police custody for the maximum period of 15 days allowed under law either pursuant to a single order of remand or to a more than one order, the remand in each occasion being restricted to a lesser, number of days, further detention of accused, if warranted has to be necessarily to judicial custody and not otherwise Chaganti Satyanarayana State of A. P., 1986 C C LR (SC) 179.

Rule 75. 

When the Police file is presented before the Magistrate the Officer-in-Charge of the police station shall forthwith transmit to the Judicial Magistrate concerned a copy of the entries in the diary as required under subsection (1) of section 167 of the Code and the Magistrate concerned in all cases shall insist on their transmitting such a copy.

(2) The Magistrate shall impress upon the police to complete investigation of an offence as expeditiously as possible and if any detention in custody beyond the period of 15 days is necessary, he shall record that adequate ground exists for doing so.

(3) Whenever a person is arrested and presented before the Magistrate, the Magistrate should be satisfied that there has been no unauthorised detention beyond 24 hours as provided in section 57 of the Code and if there be any complaint to that effect against the police, he shall make an enquiry into the matter and take such action as may be deemed necessary.

(4) The accused persons on bail shall file haziras in court by the time fixed under rule 18 of the date of their appearance and they shall be required to remain present till the court verifies their presence physically in default the bail is liable to be cancelled.

(5) The production of the accused persons from jail custody shall, unless the Court otherwise directs by any general or special order, be made by 12 noon everyday.

Rule. 76. (1) In all cases which do not result in any charge sheet, the police shall submit a final report before the Magistrate.

(2) In the final report the investigating officer shall fumish a clear statement of the case and of the evidence collected by him with the reasons for not sending up any person for trial.

(3) The investigating Officer shall also suggest with reasons how the case may be entered by the Magistrate in the general register for statistical purposes, such as 'true' 'intentionally false', 'mistake of fact', 'mistake of law', 'non-cognizable', etc.

(4) On receipt of the final report, the Magistrate may accept the Police finding and declare the case accordingly or may, under sub-section (3) of section 156 of the Code, order further enquiry on specified points or may take cognizance under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 190 of the Code, and if the persons accused have not already been arrested, may issue processes against them under section 204 of the Code and require the investigating officer to furnish the name: and addresses of the witnesses.

Rule. 77.(1) Whenever any test identification parade is conducted before Magistrate, care should be taken that before the commencement of the identification proceedings the identifying witnesses are kept in charge of a court peon or any other person not being a Police Officer, at such distance from the place where the proceedings are held as to have no chance of seeing the suspect.

 (2) The suspected person should, if possible, be paraded along with 8 to 10 persons or if there are more than one suspect with as many as 20 to : persons, similarly dressed and of the same religion and social status as far as possible.

(3) Each identifying witness should be brought up singly in charge of the Magistrate's orderly or some other persons, not being a police officer, to pick out the accused if he is able to do so and the identification of such witnesses shall be conducted out of sight and hearing of other witnesses.

 (4) If there is any fear that the identifying witnesses may be subjected to threals and injury, should they become knowr. to the suspects or to their friends, the witnesses should be allowed to view the persons paraded from a place where they themselves cannot be seen, as for instance through a window or an opening in a door or a wall.

(5) When the Magistrate conducting the identification parade has satisfied himself that no communication between the police and the witnesses was possible, he should give a certificate to that effect.

Rule. 78. The test identification Parade shall, whenever circumstances permit, be held inside the jail ; provided, however, that when it is not so possible it may be held in the Court room.