In re: Muthusamy

Maheswaran, J.—This miscellaneous petition by the petitioner-accused is to direct the Sessions Judge, Madurai, to grant a copy of the First

Information Report in R. C. No. 3/1980 C.B.I., S.P.E., Madras. An application was made to that effect before the Court of Sessions Judge,

Madurai and the learned Sessions Judge passed the following cryptic order.

The investigation in the case is still pending. At this stage, copy of F.I.R. cannot be granted.

What is contended before me by the Learned Counsel for the petitioner is that whatever might be the position under the old Code, S. 50 of the

present Code contemplates furnishing copy of F.I.R.

S. 50 of the Code runs thus :

(1) Every police officer or other person arresting any person without warrant shall forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offence for

which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest.

(2) Where a police officer arrests without warrant any person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offence, he shall inform the person

arrested that he is entitled to be released on bail and that he may arrange for sureties on his behalf.

A plain reading of S. 50 would very clearly show that it only makes it obligatory that the person arrested without a warrant shall be communicated

with full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest. Nowhere does it say that a copy of the F.I.R. recorded

under S. 154 should be furnished to the accused. With great respect, I am unable to agree with the observations of Krishnaswamy Reddy, J., in

Chinnappm v. State 1975 T.L.N.J. 482 that the accused after arrest or if he is likely to be arrested, is certainly entitled to a copy of the first

information report from the concerned Magistrate on payment of necessary charges. My attention was invited to the Full Bench ruling in State of

Madras Vs. G. Krishnan, . The question referred to the Full Bench by Somasundaram, J., was :

Whether statements recorded under S. 164, Crl. P.C. fall under S. 74(I)(iii) of the Indian Evidence Act and if so whether the accused will be

entitled to copies of the same under S. 76 of the Evidence Act at any stage of the investigation and even before the filing of the chargesheet and

whether there are any provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code or any other law prohibiting the granting of copies at the stages mentioned above.

The Full Bench answered the question in the following terms :

(1) The statements recorded under S. 164, Crl. P.C. would be public documents falling under S. 74(l)(iii) of the Indian Evidence Act. (2) The

accused will be entitled to copies of the same as a person interested. (3) but his right to obtain such copies before the filing of the charge-sheet has

been taken away by implication by the provisions of S. 173(4) of the Crl. P.C., and that he will be entitled to copies of the documents only in

accordance therewith.

The reasons which impelled the Full Bench to answer the reference in the terms noted above have been quoted thus :

An investigation into an offence has necessarily to be kept confidential till the charge sheet is filed. When therefore the Code provides for the grant

of copies after the charge-sheet is filed, it must be taken so impliedly prohibiting the divulging of the recorded statements earlier.

The following observations also make the position clear:

The view taken in ILR 30 Mad. 466 was also adopted in Ghulam Nabi v. Emperor AIR 1929 Lab. 429. As a result of the judicial decisions the

result was that (1) the accused will not be entitled to copy of the police report etc., made under Ss. 157, 173 etc.. (2) That the person suspected

of an offence will not be entitled to copies of confessions or statements recorded under S. 164 before charge-sheet is filed and (3) that after the

inquiry has commenced the accused will have a right to obtain copies of statements recorded under S. 164. Crl. P.C.

A reference to S. 207 of the present Code very clearly indicates that the Magistrate shall without delay furnish copies to the accused free of cost

where the proceedings have been instituted on a police report. That will indicate that the accused will be entitled to the first information report

under S. 154 only after the commencement of the proceedings before the Magistrate. Further, it should be noted that under S. 154(3) of the

Code, a copy of the information furnished under S. 154(1) is given free of cost to the informant. Learned Counsel for the petitioner, pointed out

that when a copy of F.I.R. is given free of cost to the informant, there is no reason to withhold it from the accused. Yet, this very Section is relied

on by the learned Public Prosecutor to indicate that by implication S. 154 clearly prohibits the accused getting a copy of the information furnished

under S. 154, at that stage. Considering Ss. 154. 157, 50 and 207, of the Code, I feel that the entire scheme of the Act is that the investigation into

an offence should necessarily be kept confidential and that copies to the accused could be furnished only after the charge-sheet is filed. On that

view, the petitioner will not be entitled to grant of copies at this stage. Petition dismissed.