RAMAN VELU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This reference, on a report by the District Magistrate. Trivandrum, under S.438 of the Code of (Criminal Procedure, has been placed before us, as the question of law involved in the matter, in the opinion of Khalid, J., before whom it came up for hearing in the first instance, deserves to be considered by a Division Bench. The question is whether an accused in a criminal case is entitled to apply for and obtain certified copy of the "remand report" filed by the police, and, if so, whether there is any limitation as to the stage at which such copy could be granted by the court.

(2.) S.76 of the Indian Evidence Act clothes any person who has a right to inspect a public document in the custody of a public officer, with a right to obtain on demand a copy thereof on payment of the legal fee therefor. The requirements in terms of this section for the grant of a certified copy are: (1) the document in respect of which the copy is applied for should be a public document; (2) it must be in the custody of a public officer; (3) the applicant should have a right to inspect it; and (4) the applicant should pay the prescribed legal fee for the certified copy.

(3.) We proceed on the assumption that the accused in this case was prepared to pay the legal fee and, therefore, the question regarding the payment of legal fee need not be gone into in this reference. The investigating police officer, who submitted the "remand report", and the Sub Divisional Magistrate who has the custody of the report, in this case, are public officers as defined in S.2(17)(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure, which substantially corresponds to the definition of "public Servant,' as defined in S.21 of the Indian Penal Code. This aspect of the matter also does not, therefore, require any detailed consideration.