Under Section 157 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the procedure of investigation in criminal cases has been incorporated. It requires the intimation of knowledge to the law office on the commission of against the law. Before the commencement of the investigation, the lawman needs to satisfy himself on certain grounds. If the grounds are present, the investigation shall be begun.
What is the Procedure Followed By Police while investigating a criminal case?
The procedure elaborated below is the one for cognizable offenses. In non-cognizable offenses, the lawman doesn’t have any authority to arrest without a warrant. The lawman has got to obtain a warrant under Section 155(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Difference between cognizable and non-cognizable offenses?
Cognizable offenses are those within which the police don’t need a warrant to form the arrest. In cognizable offenses, the officer can investigate on his own without permission from the Magistrate. Example – Murder, Rape, Dowry, etc.
Non-Cognizable offenses are those offenses that require a warrant for arrest. Non-cognizable offenses are less serious. In these offenses, the police must get permission from the Magistrate to conduct the investigation. Example – Defamation, Forgery, Assault, etc.
Intimation of the knowledge to a policeman. The information has got to be intimated to the peace officer responsible for the station in whose jurisdiction the crime has been committed. After the law officer is created and tuned in to the offense, there are two conditions that require to be fulfilled before the commencement of the investigation.
The first ground is that the officer includes a reason to suspect that the cognizable offense is that the same PRN by Section 157(1). The second is that there should be sufficient grounds present before the lawman before getting into an investigation. The information which has been received by the officer shall be reduced to writing which is thought of as ‘first information. There are not any provisions that mention ‘First Information Report’. However, the meaning will be understood from the words themselves.
Furthermore, any information which is given by any woman in relevancy to any specified offense, it’s to be recorded by a lady policeman. Nowadays, FIRs may be electronically communicated.
In Guman Singh v. the State of Rajasthan, before the commencement of the investigation, the police headquarters Officer and also the investigating officer had received information from an unknown person about a few murders. Thus, before commencing an investigation, it’s necessary for the Magistrate to require cognizance of the offense.
Sending a report back to the magistrate The report which is shipped to the magistrate is defined because of the police report. it’s forwarded by the law officer to the Magistrate. this can be the preliminary report which acquaints the Magistrate that the officer shall be investigating that specific case. Section 158 of the Code of Criminal Procedure talks about the submission of the report back to the Magistrate.
The main object of sending the report back to the Magistrate is to form him conscious of the investigation process of the cognizable offense. it’s done so the Magistrate is ready to regulate the investigation process and provides any directions under Section 159 of the Code of Criminal Procedure if necessary. The directions were the instructions given to the officer for conducting the investigation. If the officer isn’t pursuing the investigation further, this should be mentioned within the report which is to be sent to the magistrate.
Shubham Gaur