BHUWANESHWAR PRASAD GUPTA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application in revision, against an order passed by the Special Judge, Mirzapur under Section 165-A of the Indian Penal Code against the applicant Bhuwaneshwar Praead Gupta.

(2.) THE case against Bhuwaneshwar Prasad Gupta under Section 165-A of the Indian Penal Code was first investigated by Vishwanath Singh, Station Officer of Police Station Kon district Mirzapur. He prepared charge sheet and forwarded it to the Superintendent of Police for onward transmission to the Magistrate. The Superintendent of Police seems to have realised that under Section 5-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act II of 1947 this investigation could not be made by a Police officer below the rank of the Deputy Superintendent of Police without the order of a Magistrate of a first class. He, therefore, directed the investigation being made afresh by Circle Officer, Sri Ram Kumar Lal, who probably obtained the orders of the Magistrate and investigated the case and thereafter submitted a charge sheet against the applicant which came up for hearing before the Special Judge of Mirzapur.

(3.) BEFORE the Special Judge the applicant moved an application that the copies of the statements recorded by Vishwanath Singh under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had not been furnished to him and that orders might be passed for the aforesaid copies being given to him. This application was opposed on behalf of the State and under the order against which this revision has been filed the Special Judge has rejected the application holding that the statements recorded by Vishwanath Singh could not be deemed to be statements recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure during the investigation of the case. The contention of the learned counsel for the applicant was that even though Sri Vishwanath Singh had no authority to investigate the case, he did actually investigate it and even submitted a charge sheet against the applicant and therefore the statements recorded by Vishwanath Singh should be under Section 161 of the Code and that the applicant is entitled to the copies thereof under Sub-section (4) of Section 173 of the Code.