DELWAR SK Vs. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner claims that he was arrested on 21/2/2024 with some contraband articles being commercial quantities and charge sheet was filed without FSL Report on 16/8/2024. 180 days expired from his arrest on 19/8/2024. The chemical examiner directly sent the Forensic Science Laboratory Report ('the FSL Report' in short) to the Trial Court on 26/9/2024 and the present petitioner filed a statutory bail application on 27/9/2024. The concerned I.O. submitted supplementary charge sheet along with FSL Report on 30/10/2024.

(2.) According to the learned counsel, Mr. Soumyajit Das Mahapatra that the FSL Report cannot be directly sent to the Trial Court by the chemical examiner and the same cannot automatically become part of the charge sheet. The learned counsel has submitted that according to Sec. 190(1)(b) of Cr.P.C. the Learned Trial Court may take cognizance of any offence on the basis of police report. Sec. 173(2)(i) of Cr.P.C. prescribes that as soon as the investigation is complete, officer-in-charge shall forward the report to the Magistrate for taking cognizance of the offence on a police report as per the form prescribed by the State Government. The learned counsel has relied upon the judicial decision of King Emperor Vs. Khwaja Nazir Ahmad reported in 1944 SCC OnLine PC 29 wherein it was observed that the functions of the judiciary and the police are complementary, not overlapping, and the combination of individual liberty with a due observance of law and order is only to be obtained by leaving each to exercise its own function, always, of course, subject to the right of the court to intervene in an appropriate case.

(3.) The learned counsel has also referred the decision of Rakesh Kumar Paul Vs. State of Assam reported in (2017) 15 SCC 67 in support of his contention that the petitioner can file bail petition before submission of the charge sheet. In matters of personal liberty and Article 21 of the Constitution, it is not always advisable to be formalistic or technical.