Harshad Bandodkar

Assistant Professor
VVM’s G R Kare College of Law
 Charge Sheet

 Discussed under Section 173 of CrPC-Sec 193 BNSS

 On completion of investigation a case can be disposed in two ways

 By submission of a charge sheet –forwarding the accused to the Court for trial

 By submission of a final report- not sending the accused at all for such trial.

 If the IO had already sent up an accused and if he subsequently did not want the accused

to be charge-sheeted due to lack of evidence, he could send a report to the Magistrate to

discharge the accused from the case.

 Section-173-Sec 193 BNSS. Report of police officer on completion of
investigation.
 (1) Every investigation under this Chapter shall be completed without unnecessary

delay.

 (2)-the investigation in relation to Section 64, 65,66, 67, 68, 70, 71 under BNS or Sec
4, 6, 8 or 10 of POCSO Act, shall be completed within 2 months.

 (3) (i) As soon as it is completed, the officer in charge of the police station shall

forward including electronic communication Magistrate empowered to take

cognizance of the offence on a police report, a report in the form prescribed by the
State Government, stating-
 (a) the names of the parties;

 (b) the nature of the information;

 (c) the names of the persons who appear to be acquainted with the

circumstances of the case;

 (d) whether any offence appears to have been committed and, if so, by

whom;

 (e) whether the accused has been arrested;

 (f) whether he has been released on his bond and, if so, weather with or without

sureties;

 (g) whether he has been forwarded in custody under section 170.

 (h) whether the Medical Examination report of the women has been attached where

investigation relates to an offence

 (i) the sequence of custody in case of electronic device;

 (ii) the police officer shall, within a period of ninety days, inform the progress of the

investigation by any means including through electronic communication to the

informant or the victim;
 (iii) The officer shall also communicate, In such manner as may be prescribed by the

State Government, the action taken by him, to the person, if any, by whom the
information relating to the commission of the offence was first given.
 (4) Where a superior officer of police has been appointed under section 177, the

report shall, in any case in which the State Government by general or special order so
directs, be submitted through that officer, and

 he may, pending the orders of the Magistrate, direct the officer in charge of the
police station to make further investigation.

 (5) Whenever it appears from a report forwarded under this section that the accused

has been released on his bond, the Magistrate shall make such order- for the
discharge of such bond or otherwise as he thinks fit.
 (6) When such report is in respect of a case to which section 190 applies, the

police officer shall forward to the Magistrate along with the report-

 (a) all documents or relevant extracts thereof on which the prosecution

proposes to rely other than those already sent to the Magistrate during
investigation;

 (b) the statements- recorded under section 161 of all the persons whom the

prosecution proposes to examine as its witnesses.

 (7) If the police officer is of opinion that any part of any such statement is not

relevant to the subject- matter of the proceedings or that its disclosure to the
accused is not essential in the interests of justice and is inexpedient in the public
interest,

 he shall indicate that part of the statement and append a note requesting the

Magistrate to exclude that part from the copies to be granted to the accused and
stating his reasons for making such request.

 (8) The police officer shall also send as many copies of the police report and other

documents, duly indexed to the magistrste for supply to the accused under Sec 230
can be supplied through electronic communication also.
 (8) Where the police officer investigating the case finds it convenient so to do, he

may furnish to the accused copies of all or any of the documents referred to in sub-
section (5)

 Supply trhough electronic communication is also considered as duly served

 (9) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude further investigation in

respect of an offence after a report under sub- section (2) has been forwarded to the
Magistrate and,

 where upon such investigation, the officer in charge of the police station obtains

further evidence, oral or documentary, he shall forward to the Magistrate a further

report or reports regarding such evidence in the form prescribed; and

 the provisions of sub- sections (2) to (6) shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to

such report or reports as they apply in relation to a report forwarded under sub-
section (2).
 Is There Any Time Bar For Filing Charge-Sheet?
 The time limit to file charge sheet is related to arrest of the accused in the case.

 The charge sheet is to be filed within 60 days from the date of arrest of the accused in

cases triable by lower courts and 90 days in cases triable by Court of Sessions.

 K Veeraswami vs Union of India & Others (1991)

 The SC ruled that the charge sheet is a final report of the police officer under section

173(2) of the CrPC.

 Dinesh Dalmia v. CBI 2007
 A chargesheet is a final report under Section 173(2) of the CrPC so that the court can
decide on taking cognizance.
 It has to be filed only after the investigation is complete, not while the same is
ongoing.

 Sharadchandra Vinayak Dongre v. State of Maharashtra,

 the court observed that if a chargesheet is filed without completing the
investigation, then the same will amount to an incomplete chargesheet and
 will not be considered a final report and the magistrate will not be able to take
cognizance under Section 190(1)(b) CrPC on the same.
 State of Bihar vs. Ramesh Singh 1977:

 In this case, the Supreme Court held that if the chargesheet does not

disclose any offense against the accused, the court is not bound to take
cognizance merely because a chargesheet has been filed.

 It emphasized the importance of proper investigation and the duty of the

magistrate to apply his mind before taking cognizance.

 Inquest
 The term Inquest has not been defined in the CrPC

 The meaning of inquest is to seek legal or judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts

 According to Black’s Law Dictionary- it means an inquiry conducted by the medical

officers or sometimes with the help of a jury into the manner of death of a person
who has died under suspicious circumstances or has died in prison.
 The provisions relating to the inquest report are covered under chapter XII of the
Code
 Sec 174, of CrPC-Sec 194 BNSS, lays down the process to be followed in cases of
unnatural death
 An inquest report is made primarily to look into the causes of unnatural death

 In the cases of unnatural death, the circumstances have to be examined

 The State owes a duty to its citizens to ensure their health and life

 In the circumstances of unnatural death, it is the duty of the State to ascertain the

cause of death and accordingly take further measures

 The purpose of an inquest report to establish facts that can be used to apprehend

and punish the offender

 Section 174 CrPC-Sec 194 BNSS-Police to enquire and report on
suicide, etc
 Under Sec 174 of CrPC-Sec 194 BNSS, the police have been empowered to enquire and

report on cases of unnatural death

 The first clause to the provision states that when an officer in charge of a police station or

some police who is empowered by the State Government receives information that:

 A person has committed suicide

 A person has been killed any another

 A person has been killed by an animal

 A person has been killed by machinery.

 A person has been killed by an accident

 A person has died under such circumstances which raise a reasonable suspicion that

some other person has committed an offence

 In the aforementioned cases, the police officer should immediately notify the nearest

EM who is empowered to hold inquests.

 He shall further proceed to the place where the body of the deceased person is and in

the presence of two or more respectable residents of the neighborhood such police

officer shall make an investigation and prepare a report.

 The statements of the witnesses have to be recorded during the courses of the

investigation

 The statement so recorded cannot be used as a substantive piece of evidence

 It can be only used to corroborate or contradict the person making it at the trial

 There are no restrictions on the powers of the police officers from obtaining the

signatures of the witnesses on their respective statements.

 Under Sec 174(2) CrPC-Sec 194 BNSS, the report has to be signed by the

investigating police officer and other persons who have witnessed the scene

 This report is then forwarded to the DM or SDM within 24 hours.

 Special Circumstances
 Sec 174(3) CrPC-Sec 194 BNSS lays down special circumstances involving the death

of a woman

 In the cases where:

 Suicide has been committed by a woman within seven years of her marriage

 The death of a woman within seven years of her marriage raises reasonable suspicion

that some other person has committed an offence in relation to such a woman
 The death of a woman within seven years of her marriage has taken place

and any relative of such a woman has made a request on this behalf

 There is a doubt regarding the cause of death

 The concerned police officer for any other ancillary reasons considers it

expedient to do so
 In the aforementioned situation, the concerned police officer has to forward the

body to be examined to the nearest civil surgeon or any other qualified medical
personnel appointed for these purposes by the State Government

 This discretion must be exercised in a prudent and careful manner.

 The forwarding of the body should only be done if there is no risk of putrefaction on

the road which would render the examination useless

 Contents and Particulars of the Report
 The report that is made by the police under section 174(1) CrPC-Sec 194 BNSS not

exhaustive in nature, it contains in it only the first impression of the dead body.

 The police officer conducting the investigation is supposed to prepare the report

 The report must contain the following details:

 The apparent cause of death

 Description of the wounds, fractures, bruises and other marks of injury

found on the dead body

 The manner in which such marks appear to have been inflicted

 The weapon or instrument (if any) which appears to have been used to

inflict such injuries.

 Section-175 CrPC-Sec 195 BNSS. Power to summon persons.
 (1) A police officer proceeding under section 195, may, by order in writing, summon

two or more persons as aforesaid for the purpose of the said investigation, and any
other person who appears to be acquainted with the facts of the case

 and every person so summoned shall be bound to attend and to answer truly all

questions other than questions the answers to which would have a tendency to
expose him to a criminal charge or to a penalty or forfeiture.

 (2) If the facts do not disclose a cognizable offence to which section 170 applies, such

persons shall not be required by the police officer to attend a Magistrate' s Court.
 Inquest by Magistrate
 Sec 176 CrPC-Sec 196 BNSS, deals with an inquiry by the Magistrate into the cause of

death

 The Magistrate who is empowered to hold an inquiry into the cause of death shall

have all the powers to conduct an inquiry into the offence

 The magistrate can hold such an inquiry instead of or in addition to the investigation

held by the police officer

 Under Sec 196 BNSS , the JM within whose jurisdictional area the offence has been

committed are empowered to conduct the inquiry.

 The Magistrate can conduct any inquiry in the following cases:

 Where any person has died or disappeared

 When rape is alleged to have been committed on any woman

 This inquiry by the Magistrate is held in addition to the inquiry or investigation held

by the police

 The Magistrate who holds such an inquiry is bound to record the evidence taken by

him in connection and in accordance to the circumstances of the case.

 In cases where the dead body has already been interred the Magistrate to discover

the cause of the death can order for the body to be disinterested and examined
 The Magistrate who holds an inquiry wherever practicable must inform the relatives
of the deceased person and he is bound to allow them to remain present at the
inquiry.
 The Magistrate (J or M or E) or the police officer who is conducting the inquiry or
investigation are bound to send the body of the deceased for examination to the
nearest civil surgeon or any other qualified medical person appointed by the State
Government.
 If it is not possible for them to do then the reasons for not being able to do are to be
recorded in writing
 The proceedings are judicial proceedings and the High Court can exercise its
jurisdiction over it
 Scope of an inquest report
 In Pedda Narayana vs. State of Andhra Pradesh (1975), the Apex Court held that

the scope of an inquiry under Section 174 of the CrPC is limited in nature.

 It is only to ascertain whether a person has died under suspicious circumstances or

unnatural death and the apparent cause of death.

 This above principle was reiterated in Amar Singh vs. Balwinder Singh (2003),

wherein the Court observed that the section does not contemplate that the manner
in which the incident took place or the names of the accused should be mentioned
in the inquest report.
 Evidentiary Value of Inquest Report:
 Inquest panchnama is a mere fact-finding report about cause of death during course

of investigation.

 It is not such a substantial piece of evidence on the basis of which conviction can be

brought home.

 In catena of judgments, apex court has ruled that inquest panchnama is not an
evidence but it can be used for some other purposes like contradiction of
prosecution theory by defence or contradiction of witnesses of panchnama if they
are called in witness box on behalf of prosecution.
 Re: To Issue Certain Guidelines regarding Inadequacies and Deficiencies
in Criminal Trial Vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors 2021

 A site plan of the place of occurrence of an incident shall be appended by the

Investigating Officer to the scene mahazar or spot panchnama.

 The site plan shall be prepared by the Investigating Officer by hand, and shall
disclose at the place of occurrence:

 The place where the body (or bodies) was / were found.

 The place of material exhibits and/or weapons.

 Blood stains and/or body fluids had fallen.

 The place where bullet shells, if any, were found or have caused impact.

 The source of light, if any.

 Adjoining natural and man-made structures or features such as walls, pits,

fences, trees/bushes, if any.

 Elevation of structures and their location.

 The preparation of this sketch by the Investigating Officer shall be followed by a

scaled site plan prepared by police draftsman, if available,

 or such other authorized or nominated draftsman by the State Government, who

shall prepare the scaled site plan after visiting the spot. iv.

 The relevant details in the mahazar or panchnama shall be marked and correlated

in the said site plan.