Legal position on police investigation under Section 202 CrPC. When a complaint is filed under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The Magistrate, after examining the complainant and the witnesses, may postpone the issuance of summons or warrant (process) and refer the case to the police for investigation under Section 202 CrPC.
Legal position on police investigation under Section 202 CrPC
Such an investigation is ordered after the Magistrate has taken cognizance of the offence and has examined the complainant and the witnesses. It is important to note that an investigation under Section 202 is distinct from an investigation under Section 156(3) CrPC. The investigation under Section 202 does not involve the filing of a charge sheet. Instead, the police officer is required to submit a report to the Magistrate under this section.
The purpose of the investigation under Section 202 is to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused under Section 204 CrPC. Accordingly, the investigating officer must examine witnesses other than those already examined by the Magistrate, particularly those who are acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the alleged offence.
If the investigating officer records only the statement of the accused and fails to examine any independent witnesses, and then submits a report to the Magistrate, any subsequent summoning of the accused based solely on such a report would be illegal. The very act of referring the matter to the police for investigation under Section 202 implies that the Magistrate is not, at that point, satisfied with the sufficiency of the grounds to issue process.
Since cognizance has already been taken, the accused cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself. Therefore, if the police record the accused’s statement and base their report solely on it, and the Magistrate issues process based on that report, it would amount to the Magistrate having considered the statement of the accused—something that is impermissible in law.
In such a scenario, the summoning of the accused is vitiated. The accused may challenge the summoning order by filing a revision. Furthermore, if no independent witnesses have been examined during the investigation under Section 202, it cannot be said that a proper investigation has been conducted. The Magistrate has the authority under Section 203 CrPC to dismiss the complaint if it is found that there is no sufficient ground to proceed.
Hence, in the absence of examination of independent witnesses acquainted with the facts of the case, the Magistrate is bound to consider only the complaint, and the statements of the complainant and his witnesses. The purpose of directing an investigation under Section 202 is to ensure that there is enough material to justify summoning the accused. The examination of the accused alone cannot satisfy this requirement. Therefore, issuance of process based solely on the accused’s statement is illegal, and the summoning order is liable to be quashed.
Also read: Court is not providing copies of statement recorded under Section 164 crpc