POLICE REGULATIONS, BENGAL. PART 9

  1. (a) When circumstances arise which justify proceedings being taken against a man under

section 109, Code of Criminal Procedure he should be arrested under section 55 of that Code, and if unable to furnish bail sent to the Magistrate. If, however, immediate drawing up of proceedings is contemplated, the prisoner should be forwarded to the Magistrate with the necessary witnesses, with a request to draw up proceedings at once and to take the necessary evidence. If for any exceptional reason further enquiry is considered desirable before drawing up proceedings either for the purpose of verifying the prisoner’s antecedents, collecting further evidence or otherwise, the Magistrate should be moved to grant a remand under section 167, Code of Criminal Procedure. In such a case it will ordinarily be sufficient to send copies of the entries in the diary relating to the ease as required by section 167(1) and witnesses need not be sent unless the Magistrate particularly wishes to examine them.

It should be borne in mind that the prisoner can only be retained in custody in default of bail for a total period of 15 days under section 167, Code of Criminal Procedure, before the actual drawing up of proceedings under section 109. In case the prisoner is remanded to jail custody without drawing up any proceedings and without any specific charge section 109, Code of Criminal Procedure, should be noted in the jail warrant. it is to be observed that the circumstances which justify an arrest are identical with those which justify proceedings and are described in practically identical terms in section SS(a) and (b) and section 109(a) and (b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

  • If the Magistrate declines to grant a remand under section 344. Code of Criminal Procedure, in order that the previous history of the accused may be ascertained, when the circumstances justifying the arrest have been proved and the proceedings drawn up, the Court officer shall then move the Magistrate to require the accused to enter upon his defiance, and if the accused fails to give a satisfactory account of himself, to make an order under section 11 8 of that Code.
  1. A Sub-Inspector having formed an opinion that there exists any village a habitual thief or a gang of them shall proceed to open a history sheet for them as laid down in regulation 401 and shall quietly, without making his object known, make enquiries to ascertain whether in fact the man or men are habitual thieves and whether evidence will be forthcoming against them. If he believes that evidence will be forthcoming he shall report confidentially to the Inspector and the latter. after taking orders of the Superintendent or Sub divisional Police Officer, will find out from the Sub divisional Magistrate or other Magistrate who is to take up the case, when he will be able to visit the place to make the enquiry. A fortnight or so before the date fixed by the Magistrate for going to the spot, the Sub-Inspector, accompanied by the Inspector, if possible, shall go there, examine witnesses, fill up the prescribed form, and if evidence is sufficient, arrest under section 55, Code of Criminal Procedure, the person proceeded against. If he finds that evidence is not forthcoming (but this should not often occur if he has made his preliminary enquiries carefully) the proceedings will be dropped. The persons arrested shall be sent to the Magistrate, who should he moved by the Court officer to draw up proceedings, to read them over to the accused, and to pass an order as to bail and fix an early date for the hearing of the case. On the date fixed he will go to the spot and should usually be able to finish the case on the same day.
  2. (a) In cases under section 110, Code of Criminal Procedure, evidence of general repute must form the main basis of the prosecution. Under section 117(3) of the Code evidence of general repute is admissible to prove that a person is a habitual offender.
  • The points to bear in mind in connection with evidence of repute are—
  • That the witnesses should themselves be of good repute and in a position to know the reputation of the accused.
  • That they should be drawn, if possible, from different classes of the community and not only from the village of the accused, but also from neighbouring villages.
  • That they should be free from any suspicion of grudge against the accused. In particular, if party faction exists in the village, it must be made clear that the evidence against the accused is not due to faction.
  • That the witnesses should speak of their own belief and not that of other people, and that their belief carries little or no weight unless it is based on some reasonable ground.
  • Evidence of general repute may be corroborated by proof of—
  • Previous convictions.
  • Want of any known means of livelihood, or manner of living in excess of such means.
  • Association of the accused with other bad characters.
  • Absence of the accused from his house, especially at night.
  • Occurrence of crimes at or near the place visited by the accused. coincident with such absence.
  • Evidence as to habitual or casual association with known criminals and bad characters is most important, the inference naturally being that the person who so associates is himself a bad character, and proof of association is necessary to justify more persons than one being tried together under section 117(4), Code of Criminal Procedure. Equally important also is the inference to be drawn from dacoities and other crimes occurring at or near places visited by the accused and coincide with such visits. [Vide section 11(2) of the Indian Evidence Act.)
  • A statement in B, P. Form No. 47 shall accompany a report under sections 109 and 110, Code of Criminal Procedure.
  • In the report for proceedings, no more should be stated than proposed to endeavourer to prove. Before the enquiry is held a note shall be prepared for the use of the Court officer of the evidence obtainable from records and to be given by each witness; and this evidence shall be grouped, so far as circumstances permit, according as it relates to prevalence of crime, suspicion in particular cases, movements under surveillance, association, free living without apparent means of livelihood, general repute, or any other facts it is proposed to prove.
  • In the case of bad-livelihood proceedings against gangs, it is essential that the evidence should not only be generally arranged in the manner described in clause (f), but it should also be clearly stated and beriefed as against each individual accused.
  1. (a) When .a report is made by the master of an inland of steam-vessel under section 32 of the Inland Steam Vessels Act, 1.9 17,to the officer in charge of a police-station—
  • such officer shall reduce the report to writing and shall at the same time record the statement of the injured party (if any) if available;
  • if the place of occurrence be within the local limits of any other police-station, such officer shall forthwith inform the officer in charge of that police-station;
  • a copy of the report and of the statement (if any) shall forth- with be submitted to the Magistrate in charge of criminal work at district headquarters, or, if the place of occurrence be in a subdivision, to the Sub divisional Magistrate; provided that in cases of casualties occurring within the limits of the port of Chittagong, such report shall be sub- mitted to the Port Officer, Chittngong
  • pending the orders of the Magistrate referred to above, no arrest shall be made by the police,, under Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with a view to a prosecution -for an offence under section 280 of the Indian Penal Code, but witnesses may be examined and their names and addresses recorded, so that it may be possible to procure their attendance if it is decided to prosecute;
  • if the Magistrate above referred to is of opinion that an investigation under section 33 of the Inland Steam Vessel Act, 1917; is necessary., he shall submit a report of the case to the Provincial Government;
  • if he considers that no such investigation is required and that the facts of the case disclose the commission of an offence punishable under’ section 280 of. the Indian Penal Code, he may direct. the officer in, charge. of the police-station concerned to take cognizance of thin offence; and
  • in cases of serious accidents, such as- boiler explosions, or where a vessel is badly damaged, or where a doubt arises as to whether from a technical point of view the vessel is fit to ply, a copy of the first information report submitted to the District Magistrate or the Sub divisional Magistrate concerned shall be furnished to nearest Marine authority, viz., the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department, Calcutta, or the Nautical Surveyor, Chittagong, according as the place of accident is near Calcutta or Chittkgong.
  • If the officer in charge of a police-station receives information relating to the commission of an offence under section 280 of the Indian Penal Code by the master of an inland steam- vessel, he shall adhere to the following rules, namely:—

(I) if he has reason to believe, either on information received under clause (II), or on other grounds, that a report has been made by the master of the inland steam-vessel concerned to the officer in charge of some other police-station under section 32 of the Inland Steam Vessel Act, 917,—

  • he shall reduce the information, to writing and shall take steps to secure the names and addresses of witnesses and to safeguard any property produced;
  • he shall also submit a copy of the information forthwith to the Magistrate described in’ clause (a)(iii);
  • pending the orders of the above Magistrate he shall not make any arrest under Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with a view to- a; prosecution for an offence under section 280 of the Indian Penal Code;

(II) if he has no reason to believe that such a report has been made, he shall proceed to investigate the case under Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure. (Bengal Government Notifications No. I 792J., dated the 16th June 1912, and No. 31331., dated the 14th July 913.

  1. (a) Under the orders of the Central Government (i) on the occurrence of a serious affray between British soldiers and villagers, (ii) in all cases in which there is reason to suspect that an- Indian has met his death at the hands of a British soldier, the investigation shall be conducted at once on the spot by the Superintendent, unless the District Magistrate himself investigates or orders a European Civil officer to investigate.
  • With the assistance of military officers, immediate and full enquiry among the soldiers shall be made in such cases. The military authorities are under the absolute obligation of giving immediate infuriation to the civil authorities and of assisting them in the investigation. Magistrates- of districts should also co-operate with regimental officers in conducting investigations in these cases.
  • The post-mortem examination of an Indian who is suspected to have met his death at the hands, of a. European, shall invariably be made by the Civil Surgeon, except where this is not possible, owing to the Civil Surgeon being at too great a distance from the scene of the occurrence.
  • In every instance, prompt information of the occurrence shall be sent, where possible- by telegram, to the Civil Surgeon of the district as well as- to the District Magistrate and: the Superintradent.
  1. (a) Bills for expenses of witnesses who are not servants of the Crown for diet money and the cost of travelling by railway or long distances by boat or road in the interests of police investigations shall be sent to the Superintendent for sanction and payment. Such expenses should only be incurred in cases of considerable importance.
  • The bills after being passed by the Superintendent shall be paid from his contract contingent grant and the amount made over to the witness concerned, if he is present, or sent to the Superintendent of the district, or to the officer in charge of the police-station, in which the witness resides, to be paid to the person entitled to the sum. A receipt for the amount paid shall in all cases be taken from the actual payee.
  • Superintendents, when passing these bills, shall see the police officers have not neglected their duty of themselves going to the scene of the crime and interrogating the witnesses there. The true object of the rule is to provide for those important cases in connection with which, the witnesses have to be brought from other districts to identify accused persons or to describe on the spot the progress of events connected with the crime. The bills should. be passed and cashed with all possible promptitude.
  • All charges incurred by police escorts on account of travelling and diet expenses of witnesses arrested under warrants issued by criminal courts under section 92 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be recovered from the courts.
  • , All legitimate expenditure of investigating officers, as well as all necessary expenditure incurred in the investigation of cases which cannot, under the existing rules. be paid from other sources or recovered from the courts, shall be paid by the Superintendent from the contract contingent grant- and shall be recorded under a detailed head “Police investigation charges.”

NOTE.—Clause (e) of the rule covers expenses such as—

  • travelling and diet expenses of witnesses attending police enquiries, who are not required to appear before the court;
  • subsistence allowance or travelling expenses of informers and approvers;
  • diet expenses of choukidars and dafadars called in from distant beats to help in the investigation of cases: and
  • hire of conveyances for bringing, important personages to the scene of occurrence to help in investigation.
  1. Instructions for the guidance of police officers in sending documents for examination by’ the Government Examiner of Questioned Documents and requiring his attendance in law courts are laid down in Appendix XVII.
  2. (a) The services of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau of the Criminal Intelligence Criminal Investigation Department shall be utilised as far as possible Bureau for obtaining information regarding particular classes of crime and criminals. Every investigating officer shall carefully study and observe the rules on the subject contained in chapter IX.
  • In every case in which a refernee is made to the Criminal Intelligence Bureau, no matter whether such reference has proved successful or otherwise, a further or final report shall be submitted showing briefly the result of the case, to enable the officer in charge of the bureau to make necessary additions or corrections to his records.
  • Besides referring to the Criminal Intelligence Bureau for information all officers should also bear in mind the necessity for furnishing information for record, and after the disposal of any case of the kind referred to in the first paragraph of clause (a) of regulation 633 a note of the case with details of the modus operandi and of the person accused or suspected, should be sent by the investigating officer to the officer in charge of the bureau for record. See also regulation 189(t).

NOTE.—For information regarding excise and opium smugglers, application should be made direct to the Superintendent, Excise Intelligence Bureau, Bengal, who will supply any information available.

  1. (a) The services of the Photographic Bureau of the Criminal Investigation Department shall be utilized as far as possible for the examination of finger marks left behind by criminals in the act of committing offences. The expert in the bureau is able to intensify impressions which are scarcely visible to the ordinary observer, and to examine them with a view to establishing their identity or otherwise with the impression of suspected persons.
  • Every investigating officer shall observe the following instructions —
  • Finger marks should invariably be looked for on glass, metal, polished wood, or lacquer work. Torches abandoned by dacoits should always be carefully examined, as good linger impressions are not infrequently found on the charred surface of the torch; upon bottle torches such impressions are usually very clear. The fact that glass forms the best medium for finger impressions is of importance also in cases in which prostitutes are dragged for the purpose of robbery, the liquor being usually administered in an ordinary tumbler or bottle. In burglary cases finger impressions are often to be found on the bamboo matting near the point of entry, or on door-posts, and the portion on which the linger impression is found should be carefully cut out and forwarded for examination. In cases of murder immediate search should be made for bloodstained finger impressions. All investigating officers are supplied with a magnifying glass, which they should invariably carry with them on investigations.
  • Finger marks on glass, polished wood, metal and lacquer work may be intensified by sprinkling the surface with a small quantity of a powder, known to chemists as “Gray powder”, which should then be gently shaken Or brushed off with a camel hair brush. Should the substances be white in colour, such as paper, wood, etc., “Graphite” may be used instead of “Gray powder”. This treatment has the effect of making visible impressions which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Articles which may have been handled by criminals should always be treated in his way, if possible. These powders may be obtained from Bathgate & Co., Calcutta. Steps should be taken by the Superintendent to supply all police-stations with phials of “Gray powder” and “Graphite”, the expenditure being met from the contract grant. Inspecting officers are required to see that their officers understand and follow these instructions.
  • Objects appearing to bear impressions should be forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Department for opinion. Greate care should be taken not to make other finger impressions on any such article forwarded. It should not be handled unless absolutely necessary, when something with a smooth surface should be slipped under neath. The article should be carefully lifted into the box in which it is to be packed, and nothing with a rough surface should be allowed to come into contact with the portion bearing the finger impression. Particular care should be taken in following these instructions in forwarding tumblers in poisoning and drugging cases.
  • In important cases, or when exhibits are very heavy or large, they may be sent down by special messenger. Ordinarily the package should be sealed and sent by registered post to the Assistant to the Deputy Inspector-General, Criminal Investigation Department. A label should be attached to each article, giving the name of the police-. station, name of district, and the name of the officer forwarding the package, and every care should be taken that the identity of the exhibit can be proved, as in the case of articles sent to the Chemical Examiner.
  • When impressions are left on articles like safes or on walls, a telegram should be dispatched to the Criminal Investigation Department asking for the services of an expert to intensify the impression, care being taken in the meantime to protect it.

NOTE.—Regarding the submission of the finger prints of deceased persons see regulation 313.

  1. Instructions for the guidance of police officers in making requisitions for expert opinion and in sending exhibits for examination in connection with the investigation of cases are given in Appendix XVIII.
  2. With a view to facilitate enquiries and avid delays officers in charge of police- stations in British districts shall send the following communications direct to police-stations in the Indian States of Cooch Behar, Tripura and Orissa:—

Enquiry slips.

  • Hue-and-cry
  • Verification
  • Applications for certified copies of previous convictions.

Correspondence in matters relating to conviction rolls of accused persons and police enquiries regarding suspicious and bad characters should be addressed by Superintendents direct to the Superintendent of Police of various districts of the Jaipur State in Rajputna. The Superintendents of Police of Jaipur will similarly address such correspondence direct to the Superintendent concerned in this Province.

Delays in receiving replies, if of an exceptional nature, should be reported to the Inspector- General.

  1. (a) Immediately after receipt of information of a death occurring in any of the

circumstances mentioned in section 174, Code of Criminal Procedure, a First Information Form shall be submitted in B. P. Form No. 48. The information shall be recorded in the same manner as a first information in the case of cognizable crime.

  • A Sub-Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspector or head constable V, shall then proceed to the place where the body of the deceased person is, and after making the investigation prescribed in section 174, Code of Criminal Procedure, and making such further enquiry as may be necessary, shall submit his final report to the nearest Magistrate empowered to hold inquests. The investigation report signed by the police officer and two or more respectable persons, as required by section 174 of that Code, shall be attached to the final report. (See regulation 300.)
  • Case diaries shall be submitted in enquiries into unnatural or suspicious deaths only if the enquiry lasts more than one day. But il the police officer making the enquiry finds reason to suspect the commission of a cognizable offence, the enquiry becomes one under section 157, Code of Criminal Procedure and case diaries shall be submitted.
  • Where several persons meet their death by the same accident, there shal1 be a separate report on each body, but not necessarily a separate first information or final report.
  • One copy of the first information report and final report shall be kept at the police-station. The number of the corresponding entry in the death register and register of persons killed by wild animals shall be noted at the top.
  • The following procedure shall be observed in connection with deaths occurring in hospitals situated in Calcutta from injuries sustained within the jurisdiction of the Bengal Police:-

In all cases where a person seriously injured is sent from a mufassil police-station to a hospital m the town or suburbs of Calcutta, a note showing brief facts of the case together with names and addresses of witnesses who will prove facts in connection with the injury should be sent by the Bengal Police-station concerned to the officer in charge ed the Calcutta Police section where the hospital is situated. Furher, a relation of the injured man or a constable of the Bengal Police- station concerned should stay in the hospital or in the neighborhood in order to identify the body at the time of post-mortem in case of death.

The investigation shall be held by the officer in charge of the Calcutta Police section, before whom the officer in charge of the Bengal Police-station concerned shall produce all available evidence to enable him to arrive at a definite conclusion regarding the cause of death.

  1. (a) Assistant Sub-Inspectors and junior Sub-Inspectors sub-ordinate to an officer in

charge of a police-station are empowered to act under Section 174(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Assistant Sub-Inspectors is available, nor shall they make enquiries in any case in which the information or the circumstances indicate the possibility of the death being the result of foul  play.

  • table cannot make an enquiry; but when no other officer is present at the station, the senior constable shall proceed to the spot, take charge of the body, note its state, and make all arrangements for its dispatch, in case the enquiring officer desires to send it for examination.
  1. (a) When a president or a selected member of a panchayet or the president or vice­president or a selected member of a union board who is authorized by the District Magistrate to enquire into the circumstances of unnatural deaths in which there is no suspicion of suicide or foul play, makes such an enquiry, he shall forward a report signed by two relatives of the deceased, or if there are none available, by presidents by two respectable inhabitants of the neighborhood to the officer in charge of the police-station (within the limits of which the death occurred) who shall forward the report to the Court officer, through the Circle Inspector unless there is any obvious error or irregularity in the report in which case he will record the first information and return the report to the sender for correction. On receipt of such report the officer in charge of the police-station shall not proceed to the spot or hold an enquiry, unless he has reason to suspect the occurrence of suicide or foul play.
  • Similar enquiries subject to the same conditions as prescribed above may be made within their respective jurisdiction in forest areas (except of the Darjeeling division), where there is no

chaukidari union or union board, by Sub divisional Forest officers or Range officers who may be authorised by the District Officer for the purpose.

  1. (a) A police officer empowered to hold enquiries, who or receives information that a European soldier or officer of the Army has committed suiside, or has been killed, or has died in the circumstances mentioned in section 174(1) of the Code of Criminal procedure shall not proceed to the spot, but shall confine his action to sending an immediate report to the nearest Magistrate empowered to hold inquests.
  • When a person dies in the custody of the police, the officer empowered to hold enquiries, who receives notice of his death, shall send information at once to the nearest Magistrate, but he shall not refrain from commencing an inquiry under section 174 of that Code himself. Information shall also be given by telegram, if possible, to the Superintendent and, if not, by the quickest means of communication available.
  1. In investigating unnatural and suspicious deaths, the direction in Appendix XIX shall be observed by the police with a view to obtaining as much medico-legal evidence as possible. The instructions contained in “A Guide to Medical Jurisprudence” by Col. R. N. Campbell, C.B, C.I.E., shall also be followed according to the requirements of each case.
  2. (a) When a corpse is sent in for post-mortem examination, it shall be accompanied by a copy of the surat hal report and a clialan in duplicate in B. P. Form No. 49 one copy of which shall be addressed to the Court officer who shall forward it to the Superintendent and the other copy to the medical officer holding the post- mortem examination. All corpses shall be sent to the headquarters of the district, unless the medical officer at the subdivision has been authorised by the Provincial Government to conduct post-mortem examinations. Post-mortem examination shall, as usual be done in cases of infectious diseases, e.g., tetanus, plague, small-pox, etc., whenever required by the police.
  • The chalan shall contain the date and hour of the actual dispatch of the corpse, an accurate description of it, a statement of the apparent cause of death, the circumstances, if any, which give rise to any suspicion of foul play and an accurate list of clothes and articles sent in with the corpse..
  • When sending a corpse for post-mortem examination, a sufficient quantity of powdered charcoal shall be placed next to it and a sheet wound round it, and in all cases wherever a charpoy can be obtained, the-corpse shall-be carded upon it and shall not be slung on a bamboo.
  1. (a) The corpse shall be sent in charge of a trustworthy cons1able whose name, together with those of the bearers and others accompanying it, shall he recorded in the chalan.
  • The constable shall be given a command certificate, on which the date and hour of his arrival shall be noted by the medical officer.
  • A constable in charge of a corpse shall be given strict orders not to loiter on the -road but to take it by nearest route direct to the dead-house.
  • After leaving the body at the dead-house, he shall immediately deliver the Surat hal report and one copy of the chalan to the Civil Surgeon (at headquarters) or Assistant or Sub-Assistant Surgeon (at subdivisions). lie shall obtain on the second copy of the chalan the medical officer’s endorsement of the date and hour of his arrival and deliver it to the Court officer, who shall forward it immediately to the Superintendent or Sub divisional Police Officer, as the case may be.
  1. (a) On completing the post -mortem examination the medical officer shall fill up the whole of the B. P. Form No. 50 in triplicate by the pen-carbon process. One of the carbon copies shall be sent to the investigating Officer through the constable who brought

the corpse. The original report with the Chalan form and surathal shall be forwarded to the Superintendent, direct or in the case of a subordinate Medical Officer, dispatched to the Superintendent, through the Civil Surgeon for his remarks. The Superintendent shall then forward the report to the Court officer to lay before the Magistrate concerned. The register of post-mortem examinations shall be kept by the medical officer.

  • Police officers shall refer to the Civil Surgeon if they have any doubt in regard to any part of the medical report.
  1. (a) The police officer sent in charge of a corpse need not be present throughout the details of the post-mortem examination. It will suffice if he stands sufficient near to be able to testify that the body which had been in his charge was the one examined by the medical officer. He should be present at the court when the medical officer’s testimony as to the result of the examination is given, in order that the identity of the body examined, with the body to which the criminal case relates, may be established, if necessary.
  • When possible, investigating police officers should be encouraged to attend the post­mortem examination.
  • When a Magistrate in seisin of a case considers, for reasons to. be recorded in writing, the presence of another medical practitioner to be essential in the interest of justice, one or more medical practitioners to be selected by the Magistrate, may be allowed to be present as witnesses at an autopsy or other medico legal examination conducted by a medical officer in the service of the Crown in connection with the case.
  1. Expenses incurred in transmitting corpses or wounded or sick persons to the medical officer for examination or treatment in all cases, railway included, shall be met by the Magistrates, and not from the police budget. In railway cases the bills shall be sent to the Magistrate through the Court officer, and the latter shall see that the bills are passed and paid without unnecessary delay.
  2. On the East Indian, Bengal-Nagpur and Bengal and Assam Railway accommodation for the carriage of dead bodies to post centres is provided, without prepayment of fees, on requisition to the station-master of the nearest railway station by an officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police-station or, in his absence, by the senior police officer present at the police-station.

The freight of a dead body shall be paid later by the District Magistrate on receipt of a bill from the station-master from whose station the body was dispatched. The requisition to the stationmaster should be made in B. P. Form No. 51 which officers in charge vf police-stations should keep in stock for use when occasion arises.

  1. The final disposal of the body rests with the Magistare or the municipal authorities, according to local arrangements. Charges incurred by the police for the disposal of bodies of persons who have died within railway limits and are not claimed by their friends, shall be paid for by the Magistrate from his district budget.
  2. (a) When an animal has died or has been injured and the commission of a cognizable offence is suspected, a Magistrate or a police officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector or an Assistant Sub-Inspector if he is an officer in charge of a police-station, is authorised to require a veterinary assistant, where such an officer is available, to perform a post mortem or clinical examination. When the circumstances of the case require it,, the veterinary assistant will also superintend the removal and – dispatch to the Chemical Examiner of the viscera of the animal, and the expenditure incurred on that account shall be met by the Magistrate out of his contingent grant. (Vide rule 64 of the Bengal Veterinary Manual.)

NOTE. —Regarding the fees payable to veterinary assistants for such examinations, which are payable by the Magistrate, see rule 65 of the Bengal Veterinary Manual.

(b) In places where there is no veterinary assistant, or when that officer is absent on tour or otherwise not available, the Civil Surgeon shall perform the post mortem examination, and shall, when necessary, superintend the removal and dispatch of the viscera to the Chemical Examiner.

  1. (a) When a wounded person is sent in for medical examination, a report in Bengal Form

No. 3865 shall be sent to the medical officer.

  • The rules relating to duplicate chalans and sending intimation to the Superintendent, the Civil Surgeon, and the station police, in post mortem cases shall be observed in cases of wound or injury.
  • Medical officers’ reports in B. P. Form No. 50 and Bengal Form No. 3865 need not be attached to the final form, or form part of the Magistrate’s record of the case, as such reports are not legal evidence.
  • Wounded persons brought into a station by the police but not charged with any offences shall be sent, unless they object, to the, nearest charitable hospital or dispensary, sub divisional hospital or headquarters hospital, as the case may be, and the expenses incurred in sending them there shall be met by the Magistrate. Those brought in police custody and charged with an offence, shall be treated in the jail hospital, unless they are released on bail, in which case they may be sent to the charitable hospital only by order of the Magistrate.
  • In serious cases police-station officers shall send wounded persons, not required to be kept in custody, without any delay, direct to the nearest charitable hospital with indoor accommodation for first aid. Such cases can subsequently be removed for treatment to the hospital at sub divisional headquarters, where all cases which are not of a serious nature shall be taken for treatment from the beginning (for expenses see regulation 308.)

If a wounded person in a medico-legal case declines to go to hospital or is too ill to be removed to hospital the police shall requisition the services of the nearest medical officer in the service of the Crown for the purpose of obtaining a medico-legal certificate.

If no medical officer in the service of the Crown is available, there the doctor of a Local Fund dispensary or a private registered medical practitioner may be called in to make the examination for the purpose of a medico-legal certificate and paid a fee not exceeding Rs.4 from the contract contingent grant of the Superintendent concerned.

  • If a case of wound or injury is a dangerous one, the investigating officer shall take immediate measures to have the injured man’s statement recorder by a Magistrate. (See regulation 266.)
  • The consent of an injured person is necessary to his removal to hospital.
  • On no account shall women be subjected to medical examination without their consent.
  1. (a) Where the identity of a corpse, or of a person killed by accident or who met with

death under suspicious circumstances or of in the act of committing dacoities, burglaries or other offences has not been fully ascertained by ordinary inquiries, the finger prints should bodies tow search be taken on finger print slip form (B. P. Form No. 52) and sent to the Finger Print Bureau for search together with a search reference slip (B. P. Form No. 53).

  • Ordinarily there is not much difficulty in taking impressions from the fingers of a copse, but it sometimes happens that the skin of the fingers is so contracted and wrinkled that decipherable prints cannot be obtained. In such cases the medieni officer holding the post mortem should be asked to remove the skin from the fingers. The pieces of skin from the ten digits should then be carefully enclosed in separate numbered envelopes and sent to the bureau for examination.
  • The finger prints of unidentified bodies should invariably be taken under the supervision of an officer not below the rank of a Sub Inspector. Finger prints of all digits must be taken, even if it is necessary to remove the skin of the fingers; and the supervising officer will certify by his signature on the search slip that the impressions have been correctly taken in his presence. The supervising officer will further note in the remarks column of the search slip the condition of the body, whether in an advanced stage of decomposition or otherwise.
  • The transmission of finger impressions of unidentified prisoners does not dispense with the necessity of the local enquiry as to the identify of prisoners ordered in regulations 454 and 458.
  • In all cases of murder or suspicious death, where an examination of the surroundings discloses, or may possibly subsequently disclose, anything in the shape of finger marks, blurred or otherwise, on any article which might reasonably be expected to have been touched by the victim, the finger prints of the deceased shall invariably be taken for purports of comparison with the finger impressions found on such article (picked up at the scene of the murder).

Finger impressions of deceased persons shall invariably be taken, as -quickly as possible after the arrival of the investigating officer at the spot as owing to decomposition which is rapid in India, delay might reader the taking of distinct impressions impossible.

NOTE.—Duplicate finger-print slip shall be taken and submitted to be Finger Print Bateau for search if is found that for unavoidable reasons and after exercising all possible care the impresaious of the subject remain blurred and indistinct

  1. (a) In addition to taking the finger impressions of Unidentified corpses, as laid down in regulation 493, such corpses shall, whenever possible, be photographed with a view to tracing their identity. Such photographs shall, whenever possible, be of half-plate size.
  • If a competent photographer cannot be arranged for locally, a phographer will be deputed from the Criminal Investigation Department on receipt of a requisition by wire. To save time, such requisitions may be sent from police-station officers direct, but a wise discretion shall be exercised, and they shall be sent only when the corpse is identifiable and there is reason to believe that the photographer will arrive before the corpse -is unrecognizable owing to decomposition.
  • When it is necessary to photograph an unidentified, corpse, the whole body should be included in the photo, the corpse being placed in such a position that all scars and similar marks of identification’ are clearly visible. This is especially important in cases where the features are in any way disfigured. Distinguishing marks on the body its are much surer means of identification than articles of clothing, and as he they disappear with the corpse, a full and accurate record of them is necessary.
  • Whenever an unidentified corpse is photographed, particulars of the subject, as far as they are known, shall be clearly written on the back of the photo. [See regulations 638 and 639.]
  1. (a) Warrants directed to an officer in charge of a police- station for execution under section 77, Code of Criminal Procedure, shall be addressed to him either by name or by title of his office Section 79 of the Code prescribes that all subsequent endorsements shall by name. If, therefore, the officer to whom the warrant is addressed desires to entrust the execution of the warrant to some other police officer the endorsement shall be by name, His authority to endorse shall he made clear by addition of -the words “officer in charge” after his signature. An officer below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector, unavoidably left in charge of the police station has no power to endorse a warrant.
  • The officer entrusted with the service of a warrant shall be informed of the date on which he is required to return; and on his return, the warrant, if it has been executed, shall be returned to the Court officer, with a report endorsed on its back by the officer in charge of the police- station, stating how and by whom it has been served.
  • Warrants endorsed for bail (see section 76, Code of Criminal Procedure) shall, whenever possible, be executed by a police officer who can read and write. Bail bonds taken shall be returned with the warrants.
  • Warrants issued against railway servants shall be entrusted to some police officer of a superior grade, who, shall, unless immediate execution is necessary, communicate with the Railway Police. For instructions regarding the arrest of railway servant see regulation 593.
  1. (a) The powers of arrest without warrant possessed by police officers are laid down in sections 54, 55, 57(1), 128, 151 and 401(3), Code of Criminal Procedure. A telegram may be considered to furnish credible information of a person having been concerned in a Cognizable offence. “Cognizable offence” is defined in section 4(1), Code of Criminal Procedure.
  • An officer in charge of a police-station has no legal power to summon before him any person accused of an offence. The only manner in which he can enforce the attendance of such person before him, is by arrest, and without an arrest of the attendance or detention of– an accused person cannot, under any circumstances, be compelled. It is, therefore, to be understood that, whenever an accused person is sent for and made to attend before an investigating officer, he is to be considered as having been arrested, and to be entered in the return accordingly. The manner in which arrest is to be made is described in sections 46 to 48 and section 53, Code of Criminal Procedure. No person who has been arrested may be discharged except on bail, or on his own recognizance, or under the special orders of a Magistrate (See section 63 of the Code.)
  • “Police custody” includes custody on the authority of the police; every person who is kept in attendance to answer a charge in such a way that he is practically deprived of his freedom shall be considered- as in custody. A police officer who, without himself arresting person, directs- some of the neighbors to take charge of him, shall be responsible in the same way as if he had made the arrest himself. Requiring a person’s attendance by letter and deputing a constable to accompany him with orders to prevent him from speaking to any one amounts to an arrest.
  • The attention of all officers is drawn to section 25 of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1924 (VI of 1924), which provides for the arrest without warrant of a registered member of a criminal tribe, whose movements have been restricted or who has escaped from a Settlement or School, if found in a place beyond the area prescribed for his residence, and for the removal of such member for his prosecution under section 22(1) of the said Act, to the district in which he should reside or to the Settlement or School from which he escaped.
  1. (a) The police shall be careful to abstain from unnecessary arrests. In petty cases it is hardly ever necessary to arrest on suspicion during the course of an enquiry, and never necessary to arrest after the enquiry is over, when the case is not to be sent up. In heinous cases it is different. Police officers should not hesitate to arrest on suspicion. Having made the arrest they shall send the accused to the nearest Magistrate in the manner laid down in regulation 324 or else release him on bail.

(b) A free use shall be made of the discretion given by section 497(2), Code of Criminal Procedure, to accept bail in non-boilable cases. It shall be borne in mind that under section 54 of that Code, “reasonable suspicion” will justify the arrest of an accused person, but that unless the evidence is sufficient to constitute “responsible grounds for believing in his guilt”, the arrest should be at once followed by an offer of release on bail under section 497(2) of the Code.

  1. When the immediate arrest of persons employed in a public utility service (such as the Telegraph or Postal service) would cause risk and inconvenience to the public, the investigating officer shall make arrangements to prevent escape and apply to the proper quarters to have the accused relieved. In cases where immediate arrest can be made, without risk or inconvenience to the public, notice of the arrest shall at once be sent to the official superior of the accused to enable him to arrange for his duties,
  2. Whenever any one subject to the Indian Articles of war is arrested, notice shall be given forthwith by the police to the officer commanding the troops to which he belongs.
  3. An Army deserter shall on arrest or surrender be taken to the nearest police-station where, the officer in charge shall make out a certificate in B. P. Form No. 54, specifying the date and place of arrest or surrender. This certificate must be signed by the officer in charge who shall record below his signature the words “officer in charge” and the name of the police-station, and shall be sent without delay to the officer commanding the unit to which the deserter belongs.

The deserter shall then be taken, (i) if a deserter from the British Army, to the nearest Justice of the Peace (cf. Secs. 22 and 25, Code of Criminal Procedure); (ii) if a deserter from the Indian Army, to the nearest Magistrate, either of whom shall prepare a descriptive return and make a summary enquiry preliminary to handing him over to the military authority.

  1. (a) When a person arrested has to be kept in custody, and is in such a state of health that he cannot be removed without serious risk to himself or others, the officers making the arrest shall make suitable arrangements for procuring medical aid for him.

(b) When it is necessary to provide medical aid for a prisoner the nearest medical officer in the service of the Crown should be called if he is within reasonable distance; but when no medical officer in the service of- the Crown is within reasonable distance the nearest private medical practitioner should be employed, and his services paid for, The officer in charge of the police-station shall submit a bill for payment through the Superintendent to the District Magistrate, will meet the charge from his contingencies.

  1. When persons are searched under section 51, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the police take charge of articles, a receipt shall be granted to the prisoners. A list of the property shall be attached to the charge-sheet form or to the case diary or the final report of the case. When such property is sent to the court, full information concerning it shall be given to enable the Court officer to fill in the malkhana register.
  2. (a) A warrant of arrest of an accused person remains in force, and shall be retained at a police-station, till the arrest is made or the individual surrenders, or till the warrant is formally cancelled or withdrawn by the court which issued it.
  • When a police officer to whom a warrant has been entrusted for execution, fails to find the accused person, and has reason to believe that he has absconded or is concealing himself, and the -warrant cannot be executed, he shall submit a3report in writing, stating clearly the reason for such belief.
  • He shall also, in all except petty cases, make a list of the property movable or immovable belonging to the absconder, and after obtaining the signature of the Panchayet or President of the union board or of some other respectable witness on the list, shall send it with a warrant report form (B. P. Form No. 55), to the Magistrate. in the case of persons who are absconding at the time of submission of a charge-sheet this list shall be submitted together with the charge-sheet so that an order of attachment may issue immediately.
  • A Magistrate issuing a warrant is required to fix a date by which the warrant is to be executed, or failure to execute reported. If it is not possible to return the warrant duly executed to the issuing court ‘by the date fixed in the warrant, the officer in charge of the police station to whom the warrant has been addressed or endorsed, shall submit, so as to reach the issuing court not later than the morning of the date fixed, a report in B. P. Form No. 55 stating the reason why the warrant has not been executed. If the accused is absconding, he shall also send with his report to the original report, referred to in clause (b) above, of the officer to whom the warrant was the absconder. It will then rest with the Court officer to apply for proclamation and attachment, if necessary.
  • The officer to whom the execution of the warrant was entrusted, shall, if necessary, be sent with the report referred to in cause (d) above so that his statement can be recorded with a view to taking proceeding under section 87, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(J) An unexpected warrant for the arrest of a witness in form No. VII, Schedule V, Code of Criminal Procedure, shall be returned to the Magistrate on the date fixed therein, so that he may take any further steps he may think advisable.

  • Unexecuted warrants for the arrest of accused persons shall be kept in a file until they are arrested or the warrants are cancelled or withdrawn
  • A resister of warrants of arrest shall be maintained at each police station in B. P. Form No. 56.
  1. (a) Section 61, read with section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, requires that an

accused shall be sent forthwith to the nearest Magistrate, together with a copy of the entries, in the case diary if the enquiry be not completed within 24 hours of his arrest; but in no case shall the accused remain in police custody longer than under all the circumstauees of the case is reasonable.

  • The High Court have issued the following orders regarding remands: –

“The attention of all Magistrates is invited to the provisions of Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and to the importance of exorcising a sound judicial discretion in. the matter of granting or refusing hereunder. Orders under this section, it is to be observed, should- be made in the presence of the prisoner and after hearing any objection he may have to make to the proposed order. When further detention is considered necessary the remand should be for the shortest possible period. Application for remands to police custody should be carefully scrutinized and in general should be grandee only when it is shown that the presence of the accused with the police is necessary for the identification of persons, the discovery or identificafice of property, or the lake special reason. In particular, the court is of opinion that applications, if ever made, for the remand to police custody of a prissier who has failed to make an expected confession of statement should not be granted.”

  • When the conditions justifying a remand to police custody exist the station officer shall forward the accused to the nearest Magistrate (whether or not he has jurisdiction to try the case) together with -a copy of his case diary and report the matter to the

Superintendent

  • The grounds upon which the remand is needed shall be distinctly stated in the application to the Magistrate
  • An application for a remand to police custody shall not be treated as a matter of routine and of little importance It shall be made to the Sub divisional Magistrate through the chief police officer present at the district or sub divisional headquarters.
  • No order remanding an accused person to police custody shall be passed by an officer of lower status than a Magistrate of the 2nd class and application for remands shall be made to Magistrate of the required status only.
  • The exercise of the power to remand a prisoner to police custody shall be restricted to stipendiary Magistrate of the required status and in their absence, to Honorary Magistrate of the 1st class with single sitting powers.
  • When the object of the remand is the verification of the prisoner’s statement he should be remanded to the charge of a Magistrate.
  • The period of remand shall be as short as possible.
  • Whenever an application for the remand of an accused person to police custody is made, he should invariably be produced before the Magistrate. Such an application should be made at the earliest possible moment and subsequent applications for further remands to police custody, where necessary, should be made in continuation of the former. An under-trial prisoner cannot remain in police custody after 15 days have elapsed from the date of his first production before the Magistrate.

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