MODULE 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO

THE INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE

We live in a world where crimes are committed rampantly and thus there exists a need to
implement the law and to punish the perpetrators of crime. Investigation is a procedure that has to
be done meticulously inorder to identify the delinquents and to bring justice to those affected.
Section 2(h) of Cr.P.C defines investigation as follows: “ investigation” includes all the proceedings
under this Code for the collection of evidence conducted by a police officer or by any person (other
than a Magistrate) who is authorized by a Magistrate in this behalf. 1
Now the veracity of each crime committed in the society is different, some crimes are heinous
whereas some on the other hand are petty crimes. It is completely illogical to treat both these
crimes in the same way. We will discuss about cognizable and non-cognizable offences in the
following section.

1.1 COGNIZABLE AND NON- COGNIZABLE OFFENCES

Cognizable offences are serious offences and are often awarded maximum punishment, for
example, murder, rape, etc. When cognizable offence is committed, the police have the
authority arrest a person without obtaining a warrant. Schedule 1 one of the Code refers to all
the offences in the Indian Penal Code and classifies them into cognizable and non-cognizable
offences. Non-cognizable offences on the other hand, are not such serious crimes and the injury
done to the society is relatively small, for example, cheating, forgery, etc. When such an offence
is committed the police cannot arrest a person without a warrant.

1.2 ELEMENTS OF INVESTIGATION

The Court lays down the elements of investigation in the case of H. N. Rishbud And Inder
Singh vs The State Of Delhi2. They are as follows:
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
5) Examination of various persons including the accussed and reducing their statements to
writing
6) Search and Seizure
7) Formation of opinion as to whether on the materials collected there is a case to place the
accused before the magistrate for trial.
1
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
2
1955 SCR (1)1150
 8) Placing the accused before the magistrate
9) Filing of chargesheet

1.3 IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATION

The investigation is a very important procedure in the criminal justice. The entire purpose of
the justice system fails if there is sloppy investigation. The Supreme Court of India in the case of
Krishna Mochi v. State of Bihar3 emphasizes on the importance of proper investigation. In this
case, a mass murder had taken place and over 35 people were reportedly killed. The police
arrested a few people, collected evidence randomly, took the statements of the witnesses after a
month and the case kept getting transferred from police station to the other. In short, the police
had conducted a very sloppy investigation. Out the 23 accused, the trial court could convict only
3 people with the evidence placed before them. When the case went to the Supreme Court, the
Court was shocked by the nature in which the investigations were conducted and went on to
explain how defective investigations are harmful to the justice system.

1.4 INVESTIGATION IN A PLACE OUTSIDE INDIA

Section 166A states that if in the course of investigation if there is need for investigation
outside India then a letter of request can be sent to the competent authority of that country. On
the other hand Section 166B talks about about a situation wherein a letter of request is sent in
from a country or place outside India to a court of authority for investigation in India.
In the case of Narinder Singh Bograh v. State of Punjab 4, the accused murdered his wife in
Canada and escaped to India. During the investigation there, it was found that the blood sample
on the deceased wife which did not match hers. So the authorities there sent a letter of request
asking for the collection of blood and statement of the husband voluntarily. But when this
message was conveyed to the CBI by the Home Department, they did not mention “voluntarily”.
The apex Court held that “voluntarily” had to be mentioned because involuntary evidence is not
permissible in the Canadian Court. If the husband chose not to give the evidence then the
extradition treaty would come into play.

1.5 INVESTIGATION THROUGH STING OPERATIONS

A string operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime.

R vs. Mack5 lays down some guidelines which have been adopted by the Indian Courts.
(1) The type of crime being investigated and the availability of other techniques for the police
detection of its commission.
(2) whether an average person, with both strengths and weaknesses, in the position of the
accused would be induced into the commission of a crime;

3
AIR 2002 SC 1965
4
AIR 2004 SC 1686
5
(1988) 2 SCR 903
(3) the persistence and number of attempts made by the police before the accused agreed to
committing the offence;
(4) the type of inducement used by the police including: deceit, fraud, trickery or reward;
(5) the timing of the police conduct, in particular whether the police have instigated the offence
or became involved in ongoing criminal activity;
(6) whether the police conduct involves an exploitation of human characteristics such as the
emotions of compassion, sympathy and friendship;
(7) whether the police appear to have exploited a particular vulnerability of a person such as a
mental handicap or a substance addiction;
(8) the proportionality between the police involvement, as compared to the accused, including
an assessment of the degree of harm caused or risked by the police, as compared to the accused,
and the commission of any illegal acts by the police themselves;
(9) the existence of any threats, implied or express, made to the accused by the police or their
agents;
(10) whether the police conduct is directed at undermining other constitutional values.