Superior Police Officers Empowered to Order Further Investigation Prior to Filing of Police Report

The petitioner sought to quash criminal proceedings and FIR No. 30/2019 (Sections 498A and 304B IPC) regarding the unnatural death of the deceased, Rihana.

Initially, the Investigating Officer (IO) found the involvement of only the husband and mother-in-law, not the petitioner.

Dissatisfied with this, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Alwar, vide order dated 21.02.2019, directed the Additional SP to conduct "further investigation".

The petitioner argued that this was "re-investigation" under the guise of further investigation and that the SP lacked the authority to order it, as such power lies solely with the courts.

1. Whether the Superintendent of Police (SP) has the legal authority to order "further investigation" under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) before the final police report is submitted to the Magistrate?

The Court applied Section 36 of the Cr.P.C., which empowers superior police officers to exercise the same powers as an officer-in-charge of a police station.

Section 173(3) and 173(8) regarding the submission of reports and the power to conduct further investigation.

The Court cited Nirmal Singh Kohlon v. State of Punjab [(2009) 1 SCC 441], emphasizing the right to a fair investigation under Article 21.

Abdul Sattar v. State of Bihar [1989 SC Online Pat 316], which established that a superior officer can direct further investigation and judicial permission is not required if the original charge-sheet has not yet been filed.

The Court reasoned that Section 36 Cr.P.C. creates a supervisory hierarchy intended to ensure the integrity of investigations by allowing superior officers, including the SP, to step into the shoes of the SHO.

The Court observed that at the time the SP issued the order on 21.02.2019, no charge-sheet had been filed against the co-accused, nor had a final negative report been submitted regarding the petitioner.

Therefore, the SP was within his statutory competence to find the initial investigation unsatisfactory and order further investigation to collect additional evidence.

The Court clarified that while judicial permission is necessary for further investigation after a charge-sheet is submitted, no such restriction applies while the investigation is still ongoing and under the internal supervision of the police department.

The petition was disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to submit a representation before the Additional SP, Alwar (Rural), who was ordered to conduct a fair and impartial investigation in accordance with the law.

All interim stay orders were vacated.