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TMI Blog2002 (12) TMI 650X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... igation has made no progress on amount of the fact that the Directors are government servants and enjoy considerable influence. In the aforesaid writ petition the impugned orders have been passed on different dates which are the subject matter of challenge before this Court. Criminal Appeals arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 301-302 of 2002; Criminal Appeals arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 310-311 of 2002 and Criminal Appeals arising S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 231-232 of 2002 are directed against the orders of the Court dated 10th January, 2002 and 11th January, 2002. Shri A.K. Dhote, appellant in Criminal Appeals arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 301-302 of 2002 is the Managing Director of MAPL. The appellants in Criminal Appeals arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 310-311 of 2002, Shri J.F. Salve and Sh. Vijay Khardekar are the Directors on the Board of MAPL nominated by the State Industrial and Investment Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the SICOM). Similarly the appellants in Criminal Appeals arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 231-232 of 2002, Sh. M.C. Ambraham and Sh. J.K. Dattagupta are part time Directors of MAPL having been appointed as part time Directors ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iscrimination. The order be communicated to the Principal Secretary, Home Department, Government of Maharashtra and also to the Commission of Police of three cities who will be solely responsible for failure to comply with the orders of this Court. Learned A.P.P. is directed to communicate the order, by Fax. Wireless message in addition to other mode of service and even inform them on telephone S.O. 16.1.2002. Authenticated copy be furnished to A.P.P. . 7. This is the first order challenged by the appellants before us. 8. It appears that on the next date i.e. 11th January, 2002 an application filed on behalf of respondents 1 2 in the writ petition for modification of the order dated 10th January, 2002 came up for hearing before the Court in which certain additional facts were sought to be brought to the notice of the court, namely - that the complainant himself had written to the investigating officer by his letter dated 1st August, 2001 that Shri M.C. Abraham, Chairman of MAPL and part time Director Shri J.K. Dattagupta were appointed by the Government of India and as such they were not concerned with day to day working of the establishment and therefo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate to arrest the accused in a case which is still at the stage of investigation, nor can it direct the investigating agency to submit a report before the Magistrate as directed by the High Court. We find considerable force in the submission urged on behalf of the appellants. The observations of the Supreme Court in State of Bihar and Anr. v. J.A.C. Saldanha and Ors. 1980CriLJ98 in this regard deserve notice. In that case, on the basis of the first information report, the case was investigated and a final report was submitted exonerating the accused. The matter had engaged the attention of the Government and even while the matter was under consideration of the Government, the final report was submitted. The investigating officer who had taken over from the earlier investigating officer moved the Court with a prayer that the final report already filed, may not be acted upon and that the report of the police, after completion of further investigation, which had been directed by the government in the case, be awaited. The Chief Judicial magistrate passed an order whereby he decided to await the report of further investigation. This order was challenged before the High Court and a Full ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t under Article 226 of the Constitution under which, if the High Court could be convinced that the power of investigation has been exercised by a police officer mala fide, the High Court can always issue a writ of mandamus restraining the police officer from misusing his legal power . 13. This Court held in the case of J.A.C. Saldanha (supra) that there is a clear-cut and well demarcated sphere of activity in the field of crime detection and crime punishment. Investigation of an offence is the field exclusively reserved by the executive through the police department, the superintendence over which vests in the State Government. It is the bounden duty of the executive to investigate, if an offence is alleged, and bring the offender to book. Once it investigates and finds an offence having been committed, it is its duty to collect evidence for the purpose of proving the offence. Once that is completed and the investigating officer submits report to the Court requesting the Court to take cognizance of the offence under Section 190 of the code of Criminal Procedure, its duty comes to an end. On a cognizance of the offence being taken by the Court, the police function of invest ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ated. We are here not concerned with the correctness of the conclusion that the investigating officer may have reached. What is, however, significant is that the investigation officer did not consider it necessary, having regard to all the facts and circumstances of the case, to arrest the accused. In such a case there was no justification for the High Court to direct the State to arrest the appellants against whom the first information report was lodged, as it amounted to unjustified interference in the investigation of the case. The mere fact that the bail applications of some of the appellants had been rejected is no ground for directing their immediate arrest. In the very nature of things, a person may move the Court on mere apprehension that he may be arrested. The Court may nor may not grant anticipatory bail depending upon the facts and circumstances of the case and the material placed before the Court. There may, however, be cases where the application for grant of anticipatory bail may be rejected and ultimately, after investigation, the said person may not be put up for trial as no material is disclosed against him in the course of investigation. The High Court proceeded ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al report, that the investigation is unsatisfactory, or incomplete, or that there is scope for further investigation, it will be open to the Magistrate to decline to accept the final report and direct the police to make further investigation, under Section 156(3). The police, after such further investigation, may submit a charge-sheet, or, again submit a final report, depending upon the further investigation made by them. If ultimately, the Magistrate forms the opinion that the facts, set out in the final report, constitute an offence, he can take cognizance of the offence, under Section 190(1)(b), notwithstanding the contrary opinion of the police, expressed in the final report.... The functions of the Magistracy and the police, are entirely different, and though, in the circumstances mentioned earlier, the Magistrate may or may not accept the report, and take suitable action, according to law, he cannot certainly infringe (Sic impinge?) upon the jurisdiction of the police, by compelling them to change their opinion, so as to accord with his view. Therefore, to conclude, there is no power, expressly or impliedly conferred, under the code, on a Magistrate to call ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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