MANOHARI Vs. DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, SIVAGANGAI DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An important issue has arisen for consideration in these cases with regard to the procedure that is being followed by the Police in a case where an FIR is registered under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code. The learned Government Advocate (Crl.Side) appearing for the Police submitted that as a routine practice, in all cases registered under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if in the Course of investigation, the Police finds that no offence has been made out, the Final Report is filed only before the Executive Magistrate and the entire case is closed thereafter. By adopting such a procedure, it was noticed that the Final Report does not reach the concerned Magistrate Court within whose jurisdiction the FIR was registered. Therefore, the de facto complainant in all such cases are kept in dark and they are not even aware about the fate of the case. Neither the Executive Magistrate nor the Police inform about the Final Report filed by the Investigating Officer to the de facto Complainant. In almost all cases registered under Section 174 of Cr.P.C, the victim would have lost his son or daughter or husband or wife or father or mother and other close kith and kin and they will be completely unaware as to the fate of the complaint given by them.

(2.) In some of the cases, the victim approaches this Court by filing a petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C seeking for a direction to transfer the Investigating Agency or seeking for a direction to the Police to file a Final Report and at that point of time, they come to know that the Investigating Officer had already closed the case and filed a Final Report before the Executive Magistrate. This Court found this practice to be erroneous and in violation of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(3.) In order to set right this erroneous practice and in order to issue proper guidelines to be followed in a case registered under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code, this Court thought it fit to get the views of the legal fraternity.