Legal provisions regarding procedure when investigation cannot be completed within twenty-four hours under section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
As per Section 57 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a person arrested without a warrant cannot be detained by the police for more than 24 hours. If the police officer considers it necessary to detain such a person for a longer period for the purposes of investigation, he can do so only after obtaining a special order of a Magistrate under Section 167 of the Code.
(1) As per Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within the period of twenty-four hours fixed by Section 57 of the Code, and there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well founded, the officer-in-charge of the police station or the police officer making the investigation, if he is not below the rank of sub-inspector, shall forthwith transmit to the nearest Judicial Magistrate a copy of the entries in the diary hereinafter prescribed relating to the case, and shall at the same time forward the accused to such Magistrate.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
According to Section 167(2-A) of the Code, when a Judicial Magistrate is not available, the copy of the entries in the case diary as well as the accused person as mentioned above may be transmitted to the nearest executive magistrate on whom the powers of a judicial magistrate or metropolitan magistrate have been conferred.
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(2) Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the Magistrate to whom an accused person is forwarded may, whether he has or has no jurisdiction to try the case, from time to time, authorize the detention of the accused in such custody as such Magistrate thinks fit, for a term not exceeding fifteen days in the whole; and if he has no jurisdiction to try the case or commit it for trial, and considers further detention unnecessary, he may order the accused to be forwarded to a Magistrate having such jurisdiction.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
According to Section 167(2-A) of the Code, where a judicial magistrate is not available, the copies of the entries in the case diary as well as the accused person may be transmitted to the nearest Executive Magistrate on whom the powers of a Judicial Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate has been conferred. Then the Executive Magistrate may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, authorize the detention of the accused person in such a custody as he may think fit for a term not exceeding seven days in the aggregate.
The proviso to Section 167(2-A) of the Code provides that before the expiry of the said period, the Executive Magistrate is required to transmit to the nearest Judicial Magistrate the records of the case together with a copy of the entries in the case diary which was transmitted to him by the police.
As per Section 167(2-A) of the Code, if the period of detention so authorized expires and no further detention of the accused person is authorized by a competent judicial Magistrate, the accused person shall be released on bail.
The nature of the custody can be altered from judicial custody to police custody and vice versa during the first period of 15 days mentioned in Section 167(2) or seven days as mentioned in Section 167(2-A) of the Code.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
After 15 days mentioned in Section 167(2) of the Code, the accused can only be kept in judicial custody or any other custody as ordered by the Magistrate, but not the custody of the police.
(3) As per proviso (b) to Section 167(2) of the Code, no Magistrate shall authorize detention in any custody under Section 167 of the Code unless the accused is produced before him. According to Explanation II to the proviso to Section 167(2) of the Code, if any question arises whether an accused person was produced before the Magistrate, the production of the accused person may be proved by his signature which was taken by the Magistrate on the order authorizing detention.
The object of requiring the accused to be produced before the Magistrate is to enable the Magistrate to decide judicially whether remand is necessary and also to enable the accused to make any representation to the Magistrate to controvert the grounds on which the police officer has asked for remand.
The order of detention is not to be passed mechanically as a routine order on the request of the police for remand. The Magistrate has to exercise his judicial mind while deciding whether or not the detention of the accused in any custody is necessary.
(4) As per paragraph (c) of the proviso to Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, no Magistrate of the second class, not specially empowered to order detention in police custody or judicial custody by the High Court, shall authorize detention in the custody of the police. However, the Magistrate has full discretion to order detention in police custody not exceeding 15 days.
(5) As per Section 167(2-A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an Executive Magistrate may authorize the detention of the accused in such custody as he may think fit, ‘for reasons to be recorded in writing’. Further, Section 167(3) of the Code provides that a Magistrate authorizing detention in the custody of the police shall record his reasons for doing so.
(6) According to paragraph (a) of Proviso to Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Magistrate may authorize the detention of the accused person, otherwise than in the custody of the police, beyond the period of 15 days, if he is satisfied that adequate grounds exist for doing so, but no Magistrate shall authorize the detention of the accused person in custody for a total period exceeding;
(i) Ninety days, where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years;
(ii) Sixty days, where the investigation relates to any other offence, and, on the expiry of the said period only ninety days, or sixty days, as the case may be, the accused person shall be released on bail if he is prepared to and does furnish bail.
(7) It is the duty of the Magistrate to inform the accused that he has a right to be released on bail under the proviso to Section 167(2) of the Code. As per Explanation I to Section 167(2) of the Code, notwithstanding the above mentioned period of ninety days or sixty days, as the case may be, the accused shall be detained in custody so long as he does not furnish bail.
(8) Section 167(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that any Magistrate other than the Chief Judicial Magistrate making such order of detention under Section 167(2) shall forward a copy of his order, with his reasons for making it, to the Chief Judicial Magistrate.
(9) As per Section 167(5) of the Code, if in any case triable by a Magistrate as a summons case, the investigation is not concluded within a period of six months from the date on which the accused was arrested, the Magistrate shall make an order stopping further investigation into the offence unless the officer making the investigation satisfies the Magistrate that for special reasons and in the interest of justice the continuation of the investigation beyond the period of six months is necessary.
(10) According to Section 167(6) of the Code, where any order stopping further investigation into an offence has been made under Section 167(5) of the Code, the Sessions Judge, if he satisfies, on an application made to him or otherwise, that further investigation into the offence ought to be made, vacate the order stopping further investigation into the offence under Section 167(5) of the Code and direct further investigation to be made into the offence subject to such directions with regard to bail and other matters as he may specify.