PART – II

INVESTIGATION PROSECUTION

INVESTIGATION

7.1 The primary responsibility of Police is to protect life, liberty and property of citizens. It is for the protection of these rights that Criminal Justice System has been constituted assigning important responsibility to the Police. They have various of duties to perform, the most important among them being maintenance of Law and order and investigation of offences. The police are charged with the responsibility of protecting precious Human Rights of the citizens. Whenever there is invasion or threat of invasion of one’s human rights it is to the police that the citizen rushes for help. Unfortunately the contribution of the police in this behalf is not realized and only the aberrations of the police are noticed, highlighted and criticized. The aberrations must be corrected and the police respected for the difficult role they play even at the cost of their lives in the process of protecting the rights of the citizens.

7.2 The manner in which police investigations are conducted is of critical importance to the functioning of the Criminal Justice System. Not only serious miscarriage of justice will result if the collection of evidence is vitiated by error or malpractice, but successful prosecution of the guilty depends on a thorough and careful search for truth and collection of evidence which is both admissible and probative. In undertaking this search, it is the duty of the police to investigate fairlyand thoroughly and collect all evidence, whether for or against the suspect. Protection of the society being the paramount consideration, the laws, procedures and police practices must be such as to ensure that the guilty are apprehended and punished with utmost dispatch and in the process the innocent are not harassed. The aim of the investigation and, in fact, the entire Criminal Justice System is to search for truth. To achieve this objective, the investigating officers must be properly trained and supervised and necessary scientific and logistical support should be made available to them.

7.3 The police perceive themselves psychologically and morally bound to do everything possible to curb crime and investigate the cases successfully to meet the peoples’ expectations. In this process the police often resort to short cut methods and exhibit negative traits of police sub-culture, namely, rudeness, use of third degree methods, defensiveness in face of criticism, lack of innovativeness etc.

7.4 Even though investigation is the foundation of the Criminal Justice System it is unfortunate that it is not trusted by the laws and the courts. Sections 161 and 162 of the Code provide that the statements of the witnesses examined during investigation are not admissible and that they can only be used by the defence to contradict the maker of the statement. The confession made by accused is also not admissible in evidence. The statements recorded at the earliest stage normally have greater probative value but can’t be used in evidence. The observations of the courts in several criminal cases show that the Judges are reluctant to accept the testimony of police officers. Such is not the position in other countries. This is a historical legacy of the colonial rulers. It is common knowledge that police often use third degree methods during investigation. There are also allegations that in some cases they try to suppress truth and put forward falsehood before court for reasons such as corruption or extraneous influences political or otherwise. Unless the basic problem of strengthening the foundation is solved the guilty continue to escape conviction and sometimes even innocent persons may get implicated and punished. It is therefore necessary to address ourselves to the problems and strengthen the investigation agency.

7.5 CRIME: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

COGNIZABLE CRIMES REGISTERED DURING 1995-2000.

Table 8

During the year 2000, in addition to 51,67,750 crimes registered by the police, the other investigating agencies under the Central and State Governments also registered 70,648 cognizable crimes.

7.5.1 From the above statistics, it would appear that IPC crimes, through on the increase from 1995 to 1998, showed a downward trend in 1999 and slight upward trend in 2000. The IPC crimes registered an increase of 0.4% in 2000 compared to 1999. SLL crimes, however, registered a much higher increase of 7.9% in the same period.

7.5.2 Of IPC crimes, violent crimes constituted 13.4%, property crimes, 20.6%, economic crimes, 3.2% and other IPC crimes, 62.1% in the year 2000. Violent crimes, which were about 8% in the 1950s and 1960s have almost doubled in last three decades. This is disturbing.

7.5.3 The crime rate i.e. incidence of crime per lac of population, is universally taken as a more realistic indicator since it balances the effect of growth in population. The crime rate of total cognizable crimes (i.e. IPC+SLL) was 515.7 in 1999. The crime rate of total cognizable crimes increased marginally by 3.6% in 2000 vis-à-vis 1999. The IPC crime rate in 2000 was 176.7 while it was 178.9 in 1999, thereby recording a decline of 1.2% during this period.

7.5.4 It may be noted that in 2000 at All India level, a total of 22,74,026 IPC cases including those pending from the previous years were pending investigation with the police. 17,92,896 cases i.e. 84% cases were disposed of during the year and 4,75,536 cases (i.e. 20.9%) remained pending. Broadly speaking, 4/5 of the cases were disposed of by the police and 1/5 remained pending. This is the pattern which obtains since last several years. As regards SLL cases, 93.7% were disposed of in 2000; investigation was denied in 0.8% cases and the remaining 5.5% remained pending at the end of the year.

7.6 DIFFICULTIES OF THE INVESTIGATING OFFICERS

7.6.1 The Committee has interacted with a cross-section of the police officers at all levels and in different States. The police officers have mentioned the following difficulties before the Committee in ensuring speedy, effective and fair investigation:

i. Excessive workload due to inadequacy of manpower and long working hours even on holidays and the absence of shift system;

ii. Non co-operative attitude of the public at large;

iii. Inadequacy of logistical and forensic back up support;

iv. Inadequacy of trained investigating personnel;

v. Inadequacy of the state-of-the-art training facilities in investigation, particularly in- service training;

vi. Lack of coordination with other sub-system of the Criminal Justice System in crime prevention, control and search for truth;

vii. Distrust of the laws and courts,

viii. Lack of laws to deal effectively the emerging areas of crime such as organised crime, money laundering etc.

ix. Misuse of bail and anticipatory bail provisions;

x. Directing police for other tasks which are not a part of police functions;

xi. Interrupting investigation work by being withdrawn for law and order duties in the midst of investigation.

xii. Political and executive interference;

xiii. Existing preventive laws being totally ineffective in curbing criminal tendencies of hardened criminals and recidivists.

7.7 QUALITY OF INVESTIGATION

7.7.1 The Committee is required to address itself primarily to the role of the Police in investigating crimes. The word ‘investigation’ has been defined in section 2(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code as:

All the proceedings under the Code for the collection of evidence by a police officer or by any other person (other than a Magistrate) who is authorized by the Magistrate in this behalf.

7.7.2 Investigation is basically an art of unearthing the truth for the purpose of successful detection and prosecution. In the words of the Supreme Court (in H.N. Rishbud v/s State of Delhi : AIR 1955 SC 196: 1955 SCJ 283,) the investigation generally consists of the following steps:

1) Proceeding to the spot;

2) Ascertainment of the facts and circumstances of the case;

3) Discovery and arrest of the suspected offender;

4) Collection of evidence relating to the commission of the offence which may consist of the examination of:

a) various persons (including accused) and the reduction of statements into writing, if the officer thinks fit;

b) the search of places and seizure of things considered necessary for the investigation and to be produced at the trial; and

5) Formation of the opinion as to whether on the materials collected, there is a case to place the accused before a Magistrate for trial and, if so, taking the necessary steps for the same for the filing of a charge sheet u/s 173 Cr.P.C.

7.7.3 The standard of police investigation in India remains poor and there is considerable room for improvement. The Bihar Police Commission (1961) noted with dismay that “during the course of tours and examination of witnesses, no complaint has been so universally made before the Commission as that regarding the poor quality of police investigation”. Besides inefficiency, the members of public complained of rudeness, intimidation, suppression of evidence, concoction of evidence and malicious padding of cases. Almost in the same vein, the Punjab Police Commission (1961-62) bemoaned poor quality of police investigation. A frequent complaint relating to the method of investigation received by the Punjab Police Commission was that all cases were not investigated by one officer but several officers in succession.

7.7.4 The West Bengal Police Commission (1960-61) also referred to noticeable deterioration in the standard of investigation. The Second West Bengal Police Commission (1988) reaffirmed the downward trend and observed that during the intervening years the standard of investigation had further gone down. Many cases did remain undetected. It also observed that conviction figures had also gone down.

7.8 INADEQUACY OF STAFF

7.8.1 In the first place, there is inadequacy of the investigating staff. The police officers are hard pressed for time with multifarious commitments and, thus, not able to devote adequate time for investigational work. A sample survey done at the instance of the National Police Commission (Fourth Report of the National Police Commission-page 3) in six States of the country revealed that on an average, the investigating officer is able to devote only 27% of his time on investigational work, while the rest of the time is taken by other duties connected with the maintenance of law and order, VIP bandobust, petition enquiries, court attendance, collection of intelligence and other administrative work. The Committee on Internal Security constituted by the group of Ministers (GOI) in the wake of Kargil conflict in 2000 was informed by the DGP, Uttar Pradesh, of the startling fact that the police could devote only 13% of its time on investigations. Similarly, a random survey done at the instance of Second West Bengal Police Commission revealed that a Sub-Inspector of an urban police station in West Bengal, on an average, spent 20-25% of his time on investigational work; a Sub- Inspector in Calcutta City spent about 41% his time on it and a Sub Inspector in rural areas spent 16 to 18% of time in investigative work due to long distances involved. Inadequate number of I.Os. coupled with low percentage of their time being devoted to investigational work, resulting in perfunctory and delayed investigations, paved way for the acquittal of the accused.

7.8.2 An investigating officer on an average, investigates 45 cases in a year. There is, however, a wide variation amongst States, with the workload of IO ranging from a low of 12.7 cases in Orissa to a high of 145.3 cases in Andhra Pradesh. The National Police Commission had suggested a workload of 60 cases per IO. Given the heavy commitment of police officers in law and order, VIP security and other ‘Bandobast’ duties, there is need for fixing a more realistic norm. It may be apt to add that the prevailing norms regarding workload of 10 in the CBI are two cases per year in the Central Units and 4 cases per year in the Territorial Units. The Committee has interacted with police officers at the highest level as well as at the executive level. It has also discussed relevant issues with SHOs and there immediate supervisory officers and seen their work regarding investigation in some States. On the basis of observations and interaction, the Committee is of the opinion that for improving quality of investigation, the workload of an IO (or a team of IOs) should not exceed 10 cases per year. This norm is suggested for investigation of serious crimes.

7.9 SEPARATION OF INVESTIGATION WING FROM LAW & ORDER WING

7.9.1 As of now, the police have a combined cadre of Officers and men who perform both investigational and law and order duties, resulting in lack of perseverance and specialisation in investigations, especially of the serious cases. It needs to be emphasised that the duties of the police as prescribed in section 23 of the Indian Police Act, 1861, have become totally out-dated. Much water has flown down the Ganges since then. Terrorism, particularly State sponsored terrorism from across the borders, has drastically changed the ambit and role of police functions and duties in certain parts of the country. Besides, organised crime having inter-State and trans-National dimensions has emerged as a serious challenge to the State authority. This has compelled the Police Departments to divert a large chunk of their resource to these areas, leaving as much less for the routine crime work.

7.9.2 The need for expeditious and effective investigation of offences as contributing to the achievement of the goal of speedy trial cannot be gain said. The investigation of crime is a highly specialised task requiring a lot of patience, expertise, training and clarity about the legal position of the specific offences and subject matter of investigation. It is basically an art of unearthing hidden facts with the purpose of linking up of different pieces of evidence for successful prosecution. The Committee is of the view that investigation requires specialisation and professionalism of a type not yet fully achieved by the police agencies.

7.9.3 The National Police Commission by a sample survey in six States in different parts of the country found that an average IO was able to devote only 30% of his time to investigational work while the rest of the time was taken in other duties. The National Police Commission stopped short of categorically recommending separation of the investigation wing from the law and order wing but recommended restructuring of the police hierarchy for increasing the cadre of IOs.

7.9.4 The Law Commission of India discussed this issue threadbare in its 154th report and categorically recommended separating the investigating agency from the law and order police. The Law Commission adduced the following grounds in support of its recommendations:

i) it will bring the investigating agencies under the protection of judiciary and greatly reduce the possibility of political or extraneous influences;

ii) efficient investigation of cases will reduce the possibility of unjustified and unwarranted prosecutions;

iii) it will result in speedier investigation which would entail speedier disposal of cases;

iv) separation will increase the expertise of the investigating officers;

v) the investigating police would be plain clothes men and they would be able to develop good rapport with the public;

vi) not having been involved in law and order duties entailing the use of force, they would not provoke public anger and hatred which stand in the way of public police cooperation in tracking down crime and criminals and getting information, assistance and intelligence from the public.

7.9.5 The Committee on Police Reforms constituted by the Government of India under the chairmanship of Sri K. Padmanabhaiah also recommended separation of investigation from the law and order wing.

We feel that the long standing arguments whether crime and law and order should be separated should be ended once and for all. Most police officers are agreed that they should be separated but feel that the separation may not be practical. We are of the view that such a separation should be made in urban areas in all States as a beginning.Separation of crime from law and order will lead to greater professionalism and specialisation and will definitely improve the quality of investigation. In UP, this separation has already been put into effect in municipal and bigger towns from April, 2000. Maharashtra is also in the process of doing it. The rest of India must follow suit.

7.9.6 It has been brought to our notice that separation in the two wings has already

been effected in certain large cities in the country. In Chennai Police Commissioner’s office, there are separate police stations for Law and Order and crime. The Crime Police Stations in Chennai register and investigate cases relating to property offences. The rest of the offences are handled by the Law & Order PSs. There are separate Assistant Commissioner of Police to supervise the work of respective police stations. The work of both types of PSs in coordinated by the territorial Dy. Commissioner of Police. In other urban areas, in the State, the above system prevails. The rural PSs, however, work in a traditional system.

7.9.7 The Tamil Nadu pattern is being followed in Andhra Pradesh also. In cities/big towns, namely, Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Vijaywada, Rajhmundry, Guntur and Eluru etc., there are separate PSs for law an order and crime, though both types of PSs function from the same building. While investigation of offences relating to property are taken up by the Crime PSs, investigation of other offences is handled by the law and orders PSs. Unlike, Chennai, the work of both types of PSs is supervised by the territorial supervisory officers i.e. SDPOs, DCPs etc. Hyderabad City Police Commissionerate also has a Central Crime Police Station which takes up investigation of important crimes. In the rural areas, the traditional system prevails.

7.9.8 We have given a serious thought to the matter and are of the view that all serious crimes, say sessions triable cases, and certain other classes of cases are placed in the domain for the Crime Police and the remaining crimes including crimes under most of the Special and Local laws are handled by the Law and Order Police. The Committee strongly feels that:

(i) The staff in all stations in urban areas should be divided as Crime Police and Law and Order Police. The strength will depend upon the crime & other problems in the PS area.

(ii) In addition to the officer in-charge of the police station, the officer in-charge of the Crime Police should also have the powers of the officer in-charge of the police station.

(iii) The investigating officers in the Crime Police should be at the least of the rank of ASI and must be graduates, preferably with a law degree, with 5 years experience of police work.

(iv) The category of cases to be investigated by each of the two wings shall be notified by the State DGP.

(v) The Law & Order police will report to the Circle officers/SDPO. Detective constables should be selected, trained and authorised to investigate minor offences. This will be a good training ground for them when they ultimately move to the crime police.

(vi) A post of additional SP (Crimes) shall be created in each district. He shall have crime teams functioning directly under him. He will carry out investigations into grave crimes and those having inter district or inter state ramifications. He shall also supervise the functioning of the Crime Police in the district.

(vii) There shall be another Additional SP (Crime) in the district who will be responsible for (a) collection and dissemination of criminal intelligence; (b) maintenance and analysis of crime data:

(c) investigation of important cases; (d) help the Crime Police by providing logistic support in the form of Forensic and other specialists and equipment. Investigations could also be entrusted to him by the District SP.

(viii) Each state shall have an IG in the State Crime Branch exclusively to supervise the functioning of the Crime Police. He should have specialised squads working under his command to take up cases having inter District. & and inter-state ramifications. These could be (a) cyber crime squad; (b) anti terrorist squad; (c) organized crime squad; (d) homicide squad; (e) economic offences squad; (f) kidnapping squad (g) automobile theft squad; (h) burglary squad etc. He will also be responsible for (a) collection and dissemination of criminal intelligence (b) maintenance and analysis of crime data (c) co-ordination with other agencies concerned with investigation of cases.

7.10 INVESTIGATION BY A TEAM

7.10.1 It has come to the notice of the Committee that investigations of even grave and sensational crimes having inter-State and even trans- national ramifications are being conducted by a single IO. The Committee feels that by virtue of the nature of such cases, application of a single mind is not enough to respond to the modern needs of the art and science of investigation — may it be inspection of site, picking of the clues and developing them and handling of other multidimensional related matters.

7.10.2 The investigation of all such crimes needs to be conducted by a team of officers, the size and level of the team depending on the dimensions of the case, with the senior most officer working as the leader of the team. This would ensure continuity between investigative efforts as also proper appraisal of evidence and application of law thereto. It will also avert or minimise the scope of misuse of discrimination by the police and ensure greater transparency in the investigations. Integrity of the team, needless to mention would obviously be higher.

7.11 LEVEL OF THE INVESTIGATING OFFICER

7.11.1 It may be apt to point out that the rank of the IO investigating a case also has a bearing on the quality of investigation. The minimum rank of an SHO in the country is SI. However, some of the important police stations are headed by the officers of the rank of Inspector. It has been observed that investigations are mostly handled by lower level officers, namely, HC and ASI etc.. The senior officers of the police stations, particularly the SHOs generally do not conduct any investigations themselves. This results in deterioration of quality of investigations.

7.11.2 While no hard and fast rule can be laid down as to the rank of the IO for a particular type of case, the Committee, however, recommends that, as far as possible, all Sessions triable cases registered in the police stations should be investigated by the senior most police officers posted there, be they SIs or Inspectors. This has obvious advantages as they will be able to do a better job because of their superior intelligence, acumen and experience and control over the resources.

7.12 INSULARITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE INVESTIGATING AGENCY

7.12.1 Another important aspect impacting on the quality of investigation is the insularity of the investigating officers and the supervisory ranks. For fair and impartial investigation, it is imperative that the investigating machinery is immune from political and other extra influences and acts in consonance with the law of the land and the Constitution. It has, however, been observed that the people in authority think nothing of wielding influence to scuttle and, even thwart, criminal investigations or to bend them to suit their political or personal conveniences. What is worse is that in certain States, the ‘Desires System’ in the posting of District and Thana level police officers is ruling the roost. The things have come to such a pass that no transfer can be affected without the ‘desire’ of the local MLA and MPs and certainly not always for altruistic reasons or in public interest. This practice, wherever it prevails, is not desirable in any wing of the Government and certainly not in the Police Department and needs to be discontinued.

7.12.2 It is strongly felt that the investigating officers should have the requisite independence responsible to act according to law and the constitution. Mere change of mind set would not suffice unless appropriate legal backing is provided in this regard.

7.12.3 Integrity of the I.O has a vital bearing on the integrity of the investigation conducted by him. The misconduct of the IOs has often been overlooked due to misplaced and misconceived service loyalties. The Committee feels that the Dist. Supdts. Of Police, Range Dy.IGs and the DGPs must ensure that the IOs function wit utmost integrity and bad elements amongst them are identified and excluded from investigative process. This would necessitate strengthening of the Police Vigilance set-ups at the State level and constitution of a similar mechanism at the Range/District. level.

7.13 Placement Policy of Investigating Staff

7.13.1 Another related aspect is frequent transfer of cases from one IO to another and from District. Police to the Range Office or the State Crime Branch due to extraneous considerations. This practice not only demoralizes the initial investigating officer or agency but also cools the trail of investigation and renders immunity to the criminals, at least temporarily, from penal consequences.

7.13.2 The Committee is of the opinion that:

a) The National Security Commission at the national level and the State Security Commissions at the State level should be constituted, as recommended by the National Police Commission. Constitution of the aforesaid Commissions would give an element of insularity to the police forces in the country and invoke faith and trust of the people in its functioning.

b) Police Establishment Boards consisting of DGP and 3 to 4 other senior police officers should be set up at the Police Headquarters in each State. Posting, transfer and promotions etc. of District. level officers should be made on the recommendation of such Boards, with the proviso that the Government may differ with the recommendations of such Boards for reasons to be recorded in writing.

c) No case should ordinarily be transferred from one 10 to another or from District. Police to the Range office or the State Crime Branch by the competent authority unless there are very compelling and cogent reasons for doing so and such reasons should be recorded in writing by the concerned authority.

d) The ‘superintendence’ of the Police in the State vests in the State Govt. As there are allegations, not always unfounded, of misuse of this power for extraneous considerations, it would be desirable to delimit the ambit and scope

there of by adding an explanation underneath section 4 of the Indian Police Act, as recommended by the NPC, to the following effect:

Explanation: The power of superintendence shall be limited to the purpose of ensuring that the police performance is in strict accordance with law”.

7.13.3 Understandably format of a new Police Act is already under consideration of the Govt. of India. We feel that this exercise should be completed without loss of any time.

7.14 SUPERVISION

7.14.1 Another important reason for the decline in the quality of investigation is lack of effective and timely supervision by the senior officers. There is a hierarchy of officers above the SHO who are empowered to monitor and guide the investigations in terms of section 36 Cr.P.C., namely, Deputy SP, Additional SP, Superintendent of Police and even the Range DIG. But most of them do not devote adequate time and energy to supervisory work. This has been affirmed in a study conducted by the BPRD in respect of murder cases of Faridabad, Gurgaon, & Union Territory, Delhi, which resulted in acquittals during the period 1984-86.

7.14.2 Further, it has to be pointed out in view of our fractured polity and social dissonances, it has now become a regular feature to embellish the FIRs and statements, giving incorrect facts and circumstances, with the objective of roping in innocent persons for political reasons or to settle personal scores. This happens even in grave offences like murder and rape etc. Witnesses and victims even make false statements before the Magistrates u/s 164 Cr.P.C. It is, therefore, the duty of the supervisory officers to properly guide the investigations right from the beginning so as to ensure that innocent persons are exculpated and the real guilty ones brought to justice. It is easier said than done. It needs hard work, professional expertise, and to top it all, moral courage to call a spade a spade, unmindful of the parties and pressure groups involved. The I.O alone, lowly in rank, cannot do it; he needs professional and moral support of his seniors, which, unfortunately, is missing either due to professional inaptitude or political compulsions.

7.14.3 The Committee feels that the quality of investigations would not improve unless the supervisory ranks in the police hierarchy i.e. Circle Officers/ District. Supdt. of Police/Range Dy.IGP, pay adequate attention to the thorough and timely supervision over the progress of individual investigations. The National Police Commission in para 27.35 of its 4 report observed that effective supervision of an investigation would call for:

 (i) Test visit to the scene of crime;

(ii) A cross check with the complainant and a few important witnesses to ensure that their version has been correctly brought on police record and that whatever clues they had in view have been pursued by the police;

(iii) Periodic discussion with the investigating officers to ensure continuity of his attention to the case; and

(iv) Identification of similar features noticed in other cases reported elsewhere, and coordinated direction of investigation of all such cases.

7.14.4 Needless to say, supervision ensures proper direction, coordination and control and this helps efficiency. Effective supervision by the District. Supdts. of Police and Circle Officers also reduces the utilisation of opportunities and misuse of coercive powers vested in the officers from the SHO down to the constabulary, to the minimum. If the supervision of the District. SP and the CO is lax and ineffective, it is bound to breed inefficiency and corruption in the force. The efficiency and honesty of the force depends largely in the manner in which superior officers discharge their responsibilities through example and precept. Thus, close and constant supervision by senior officers over the work of subordinate officers is absolutely essential. Close supervision of individual investigations is also essential to check the canker of corruption.

7.14.5 Some of the areas in which Supervisory Officers can play a vital role are enumerated below:

i. Crimes are freely registered.

ii. Crimes are registered under the appropriate sections without minimizing the occurrence for the sake of statistics;

iii. There is no minimization or lessening of the value of property in order to reduce supposed police responsibility;

iv. Complaint, if made orally, is recorded at once carefully and accurately in plain and simple language by the senior most officer present in the police station or by someone to his dictation without omitting any of the important and relevant details.

v. There is no interpolation while writing complaints and if any fact is omitted, it is written afresh at the bottom, and if anything is scored out, it is done neatly with initials and date and in such a manner that it could be read;

vi. If investigation is refused u/s 157(1)(b), it is done on proper grounds;

vii. The investigation in all cases is prompt, thorough and sustained;

viii. Final reports are submitted without delay and charge-sheets are accompanied by complete evidence that is to be led at the trial;

ix. Cases are not routinely closed as false unless there are reasons to do so and in case it is decided to close the case, steps are taken to prosecute the accused u/s 182 or 211 IPC;

x. After the case has gone to the Court, its progress is watched and it is ensured that the witnesses, including the investigating police officers, attend the Court on the due dates and depose properly and that the Public Prosecutors perform their duties competently;

xi. They should coordinate with the neighboring police stations or neighboring Districts. and even States in investigation of Inter District or Inter-State crimes;

xii. Investigation is kept on the right track and no extraneous influences and political and otherwise are allowed to influence it;

xiii. Investigations are conducted in an honest and transparent manner;

xiv. Scientific aids to investigation are optimally utilized in investigations and that FSL experts are taken to the spot in specified crimes for preservation and collection of evidence.

xv. Articles/exhibits seized in investigation are sent to the FSL for expert opinion and that such opinion is promptly obtained and cited as evidence alongwith the charge sheet.

xvi. The Medico Legal Reports are obtained from the experts quickly so as to reach a fair and just conclusion in a case;

xvii. Case diaries are properly maintained as per law and entries in the General Diary;

xviii. The power of arrest is not abused or misused;

xix. The human rights of the accused are protected;

xx. The witnesses coming to the police station are not made to wait for long hours and they are disposed of as promptly as possible;

xxi. Third degree methods are avoided in the investigation;

xxii. The inbuilt system of timely submission of case diaries etc. to supervisory officers is reinforced and investigations completed expeditiously.

7.14.6 The mandate of the supervisory officers enumerated above is only illustrative and not exhaustive. In cases of grave crimes, supervisory officers have to coordinate with other Districts and other States police forces and may when necessary undertake tours to places outside their jurisdictions. Given the present crime scenario, the supervisory officers must, lend a helping hand to because of their superior caliber, better mobility and superior contacts.

7.14.7 The Circle Officers should be left alone to concentrate on their primary job of supervision, and investigations generally, should be conducted by the Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and AS! etc. posted in the police stations. Nonetheless, both the COs and the lOs need to be made responsible and accountable for ensuring correctness of investigation.

7.15 INADEQUATE TRAINING

7.15.1 Crime investigations is a specialized work where the I.Os can perform their duties properly only when they are properly trained and possess necessary skills and expertise. There is, thus, great need to develop and sharpen investigative skills of the officers through regular training programmes at the induction stage and periodical in-service training courses. These are two main problems in this regard: lack of training institutions, let alone state-of-the-art institutions; and more importantly, lack of willing trainers. Presently, there are three Central Detective Training Schools at Calcutta, Chandigarh and Hyderabad. Most of the States also do have their own training institutions but the present training facilities appear to be unable to cater to the total requirements of training. Further, the existing training institutions impart the training in old disciplines. As the complexity and nature of crime is changing fast, training facilities in emerging disciplines such as forensic accounting and information technology etc need to be developed and imparted to the I.Os.

7.15.2 The Committee is of the view that:

1) Adequate number of Training Institutions should be set up by the State Governments as also by the Central Government for initial training of various ranks of the police personnel as also for in-service training. These instructions should focus on:

(i) Protection of scene of crime;

(ii) Collection of physical evidence there from with the help of experts, including forensic experts;

(iii) Inculcating the art of interrogation of suspects and witness;

(iv) Developing the art of collection, collation and dissemination of criminal Intelligence;

(v) Developing and handling informers etc.

2) The trainers should be handpicked by a Committee constituted by the DGP and

            officers having professional skills and aptitude alone should

be inducted in the Training Institutions. They need to be given

adequate monetary incentive and a fixed tenure, say of three

years. The old system of 30% of the basic pay to the trainers

may be revived.

3) Facilities should be developed for imparting training in modern disciplines such as Forensic Accounting, Information Technology, Cyber Crime, Economic and Organised Crimes etc.

7.16 COMPREHENSIVE USE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE FROM THE INCEPTION

7.16.1 It can hardly be gainsaid that the application of forensic science to crime investigation must commence from the stage of the very first visit by the IO to the crime scene so that all relevant physical clues, including trace evidence, which would eventually afford forensic science examination, are appropriately identified and collected. This can best be done if the IO is accompanied to the crime scene by an appropriately trained scientific hand. The standard practice in most of the advanced countries is to provide such scientific hands, variously designated as ‘Field Criminalists’, ‘Scene of Crime Officers’ (SOCO), Police Scientists etc., in the permanent strength of each police station. In some cases, these personnel are drawn from scientific cadre, while in some others, they are policemen themselves, specially selected for their flair for scientific work and their academic background of science subjects. These personnel are then provided indepth training in crime scene management and in the identification of different types of scientific clues to be looked for in different types of crimes.

7.16.2 The present level of application of forensic science in crime investigation is some-what low in the country, with only 5-6% of the registered crime cases being referred to the FSLs and Finger Print Bureau put together. There is urgent need to bring about quantum improvement in the situation, more so when the conviction rate is consistently falling over the years in the country and the forensic evidence, being clinching in nature, can reverse the trend to some extent.

7.16.3 There are only 23 Central Forensic Science Laboratories /Forensic Science

Laboratories and about 17 Regional Laboratories in the country. On the other hand, USA has about 320 Forensic Science Laboratories (including private sector Laboratories). It would, thus, appear that the number of Forensic Science Laboratories in the country is grossly inadequate and certainly not commensurate with our requirements. The Committee strongly feels that Forensic Science facilities in India need heavy augmentation.

7.16.4 It may be added that a National Seminar on “Forensic Science; Its Use and Application in Investigation and Prosecution; was organised by this Committee and the Bureau of Police Research and Development at Hyderabad on 27 July 2002. A number of Judges (including High Court Judges), Senior Police Officers and Directors of most of the Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories of the country participated in the seminar and made valuable suggestions for improving the Forensic Science scenario in the country. The members of the Core Group constituted by this Committee formulated the recommendations in this matter and submitted to our Committee. The Committee is of the opinion that the following recommendations of the Core Group should be implemented:

(1) Police Manuals and Standing Orders of different States/Union Territories need to be amended to make the use of Forensic Science mandatory, as far as practicable, in investigation of all grave and important crimes such as those involving violence against the persons, sexual offences, dacoity, robbery, burglary, terrorists crimes, arson, narcotics, poisons, crimes involving fire-arms, fraud and forgery and computer crimes.

(2) Police Manuals and Standing Orders should mandate the supervisory officers to carefully monitor and scrutinize, if or not the IOs have exploited the possibility of the use of forensic science in the investigation of each crime right from the threshold of investigation.

(3) The State Governments should immediately create appropriate forensic science facilities in each District. This should include one or more Mobile Forensic Science Units, depending on the size of the District, the incidence of crime, terrain and communication conditions in each District. Each unit should have a Forensic Expert, a Finger Print Expert, a Photographer and a Videographer. The job of these mobile units would be not only to identify, collect and preserve the evidence but also to tender necessary opinion, on the spot, to the IO, if scientifically feasible.

(4) Each police station should be provided with a set of Scientific Investigation Kits for identification and lifting of scientific clues from the crime scene.

(5) Arrangement should also be made to create proper facilities for packaging, storage and preservation of scientific clue material collected from the crime scene or suspects, to ensure their protection against contamination, degradation or damage at the police station or in the District Headquarters. Standard material for packaging and preserving scientific evidence should be supplied for this purpose from time to time by the State FSLs.

(6) Appropriate number of Regional FSLs at the headquarters of each Police Range should be set up by the State Govt.

(7) The Central and State FSLs are facing acute shortage of men power. According to a study conducted by NICFS, the vacancies in the FSLs range from 17 to 71% of the sanctioned posts of scientists. The Governments concerned should take appropriate steps to fill up these vacancies. Further, the sanctioned strength itself is pegged at far below the yardsticks formulated by BPR&D. The States must, therefore, revise the sanctioned strength of their respective FSLs in the light of the BPR&D guidelines.

(8) There are virtually no facilities for training of Forensic Scientists in the country and they mostly learn on the job. It must be noted that a trained scientist is far more productive than several untrained or semi trained hands. We, therefore, recommend that NICFS should take upon its shoulders the responsibility of imparting professional training to the scientific personnel. We also recommend that NICFS must expand and strengthen its core facilities in emerging areas such as forensic DNA, Forensic Explosives and Computer Forensics etc.

(9) The Finger Print Bureaux in the country are generally undermanned and are storing and analyzing data manually. The analysis and retrieval, therefore, takes a long time and the storage capacity is also limited. We, therefore, recommend that modern electronic gazettes must be used in collection, storage, analysis and retrieval of finger print related data.

(10) Most of the FSLs suffer from financial crunch. The budgetary position of the FSLs should be reviewed and sufficient funds should be made available to them.

(11) A mandatory time limit should be prescribed for submission of reports to the police/Courts by the FSLs.

(12) A national body on the pattern of Indian Council of Medical Research should be constituted in the country to prescribe testing norms for the FSLs and ethical standards for the forensic scientists.

(13) Forensic Science, unfortunately, has not assumed the status of an academic discipline in India. We recommend that the UGC should consider creating the departments of Forensic Science in at least all the major universities. Later, Forensic Sciences could be introduced as subjects at the school level. Funds should also be ear marked and allotted for research in these departments.

(14) A polygraph machine for lie detector test should be provided in each district. The regular use will obviate the need for extra legal methods of interrogation.

7.17 MEDICO LEGAL SERVICES

7.17.1 The Medico Legal Services play an equally important role in the investigation of crime and prosecution thereof. The state of Medico Legal Services in the country is far from satisfactory. One of the main contributory factors for this is that the entire apparatus of the Medico Legal Services is administratively controlled by the Department of Health under the State Governments who are not concerned with the police or with the Criminal Justice System. Even, the Forensic Medicine Departments attached to the Medical Colleges are in a poor and neglected state. The Doctors doing Medico Legal work i.e. conducting postmortems of dead bodies and preparing Injury Reports etc. are also a dispirited lot and in a poor state of morale. They feel forsaken by their parent departments and not owned up by the Police departments for which they seemingly work. Keeping in view the prevailing scenario, the Committee recommends that:

(i) On the pattern of Tamilnadu, a Medico Legal Advisory Committee should be set up in each State under the Senior Most Medico Legal Functionary/Professor of Forensic Medicine/Police Surgeon, with at-least two Board members, including one from the State FSL. One of the main tasks of this Committee would be to resolve the differences of opinion between the Medico Legal Professionals and the Forensic Experts.

(ii) The condition of mortuaries is dismal all over the country. Appropriate mortuary rooms with adequate infrastructure and equipment should be made available to each Medical College.

(iii) At places where there are no Medical Colleges, Medico Legal work is being done by the Doctors who are not adequately trained in such work. Resultantly, they often turn out sub-standard reports which create confusion for the IOs as well as for the Courts. The State Governments must prepare a panel of qualified Doctors, adequately trained in Medico Legal work, and post them in the Districts and other Mufassil Hospitals for attending to such work.

(iv) The State Government must prescribe time-frame for submission of Medico Legal reports. We recommend the following time frame:

a) Injury Report : 6 hours;

b) Postmortem Report : 24 hours

(v) There has been a tendency on the part of some Medico Legal experts to reserve their opinion as to the cause of death etc., pending receipt of the reports of FSLs on toxicological examination even in cases where it is possible for them to give a definite opinion about the cause of death. This tendency should be eschewed.

7.18 DELAYED SUBMISSION OF EXPERT REPORTS

The report of FSL experts and Medical Jurists play a seminal role both at the investigation stage and at the trial stage in the determination of facts. The police and the court complain that these reports are not being submitted in time by the experts concerned. The delay hampers the investigations and delays trials. Certain State Governments have laid down the time frame for submission of reports by the experts but these norms are not being adhered to partly due to inadvertence and partly due to over-loading of these institutions.

7.19 REGISTRATION OF CASES

7.19.1 According to the section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the officer incharge of a police station is mandated to register every information oral or written relating to the commission of a cognizable offence. Non registration of cases is a serious complaint against the police. The National Police Commission in its 4th report lamented that the police “evade registering cases for taking up investigation where specific complaints are lodged at the police stations”. It referred to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Opinion, New Delhi, regarding “Image of the Police in India” which observed that over 50% of the respondents mention non registration of complaints as a common practice in police stations.

7.19.2 The Committee recommends that all complaints should be registered promptly; failing which appropriate action should be taken. This would necessitate change in the mind-set of the political executive and that of senior officers.

7.19.3 There is yet another aspect that needs consideration. Section 154 Cr.P.C. provides that it is the officer in-charge who will register a case relating to commission of a cognizable offence. The SHO are often busy in investigational and law and order duties and are also on tours in connection with court appearances etc. In their absence from the police stations, the informants are made to wait till their return. it causes avoidable harassment to the informant and also results in the disappearance of evidence. We, therefore, recommend that the State Govts./DGPs must issue firm instructions to the field formations to the effect that a case shall be registered by the SHO of the police station if he is present at the police station and in his absence by the senior most police officer available at the station, irrespective of his rank.

7.19.4 There are two more aspects relating to registration. The first is minimization of offences by the police by way of not invoking appropriate sections of law. We disapprove of this tendency. Appropriate sections of law should be invoked in each case unmindful of the gravity of offences involved. The second issue is relating to the registration of written complaints. There is an increasing tendency amongst the police station officers to advise the informants, who come to give oral complaints, to bring written complaints. This is wrong. Registration is delayed resulting in valuable loss of time in launching the investigation and apprehension of criminals. Besides, the complainant gets an opportunity to consult his friends, relatives and, sometimes, even lawyers and often tends to exaggerate the crime and implicate innocent persons. This eventually has adverse effect at the trial. The information should be reduced in writing by the SHO, if given orally, without any loss of time so that the first version of the alleged crime comes on record.

7.20 INVESTIGATION OF COGNIZABLE AND NON-COGNIZABLE OFFENCES

7.20.1 Section 2(c) of the Code defines ‘Cognizable Offence’ and

‘Cognizable case’ as follows: -

“Cognizable Offence” means an offence means an offence for which, and “Cognizable case” means a case in which, a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule or under any other law for the time being in force, arrest without warrant”.

7.20.2 It says that those offences which are specified in the schedule to the Code in which police officer can arrest withou