LAWS(MAD)-1988-11-20

SELVANATHAN ALIAS RAGHAVAN Vs. STATE

Decided On November 16, 1988
SELVANATHAN ALIAS RAGHAVAN Appellant
V/S
STATE BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE, G-5 POLICE STATION, MADRAS Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON references, all the above cases have come up before this Full Bench for the determination of certain vital and important questions which require careful examination as regards the liberty of the subject and their entitlement to certain copies of the documents in the criminal proceedings before forwarding a police report to a Magistrate on completion of investigation as contemplated under Sec.173(2), Crl.P.C. (hereinafter referred to as "the Code").

(2.) CRL.M.P.No.6452 of 1982 is filed under Sec.482 of the Code by the accused in Crime No.1351 of 1988 on the file of the Court of the VI Metropolitan Magistrate, Madras, for directions to the Magistrate to furnish certified copies of: (a) Remand report dated 16th November, 1982 (b) Affidavit filed by the investigating officer seeking police custody of the accused (c) Order of the Magistrate dated 16th November, 1982 made on the remand report (d) Endorsement and order made by the learned Magistrate regarding any complaint made by the arrestee as regards any ill-treatment meted out to him at the hands of the police

(3.) HAVING regard to the importance of the questions, we invited the members of the Bar, especially those practising on the criminal side, to assist the Court in deciding the issues. Accordingly apart from the learned counsel appearing for the parties concerned and the learned Public Prosecutor, Messrs. N.T.Vanamamalai and T.S.Arunachalam, learned Senior Counsel and Messrs. B.Sriramulu, S.Pichai, M.Karpagavinayagam, V.M.Lenin, P.Venkatasubramaniam, P.Rathinam and T.M.Vasudevan, advocates assisted the Court by making their detailed submissions. A Bench of this Court presided over by two of us, viz., Ratnavel Pandian, J. (as he then was) and David Annoussamy, J. in the above criminal miscellaneous petitions and K.M.Natarajan, J., in Crl.R.C.No.821 of 1986, have referred the questions arising both in the miscellaneous petitions and the revision case respectively to be decided by a Full Bench in view of the cleavage of views in this regard. In all these cases, the common question that arises for consideration: