This article is written by Shobhit Chakravarty B.L.S., LL.B 1st year law student of KLE LAW College during his internship at Le Droit India.
Introduction
2,091,488, This is the actual strength of the Indian Police according to the latest report by NCRB i.e. the National Crime Records Bureau, In a country of 138 crore population has anyone ever wondered how the police is doing its job? 152 per 100k people this is the rate for police and population ratio. So keeping track of per day cases which are filed by police stations becomes very difficult that reports also many a times does not show clear data on per day cases.
For helping police officers to remember the exact date, location, time, or any other specific detail relating to a police investigation concept of Case Diary was brought it is mandatory for all police officers to maintain a case dairy while they are investigating a case they write every important detail related with the case.
Case Diary
Section 172 Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 states that during an ongoing investigation every police officer shall enter his proceedings every minute detail such as the time he started the investigation, locations, suspects, date and time of closing the case, etc. is to be noted down.
Is it binding in The Court of Law?
NO, they are not binding on the court, any Criminal Court may ask for police diaries during the trial and can use these diaries as an aid, not as evidence.
Is the accused entitled to see this case diary?
NO, he is not according to section 172 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Provisions of section 145 or 161 of Indian Evidence Act,1872 may apply if Police Officer uses the case diary to refresh the memory of the accused.
Sections 145 and 161 have been explained for a better understanding of Section 172(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act,1872
Section 145 deals with Cross Examination, A witness is cross-examined based on his previous statements which must be in writing or reduced in writing; the intention is the contradict him based upon his writing relevant questions are asked to contradict him so that trust can be brought out.
Section 161 of the Indian Evidence Act,1872
Section 161 of the Indian Evidence Act,1872 deals with the adverse party’s right to a document which is used for refreshing memory. Through the directions of the Court accused has the right to inspect the entries in Case Diary under two Circumstances either the court used such entry to contradict the police officer or a particular entry was used by the police officer to refresh his memory.
Details of the Case diary
According to section 172(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure time when the case is reported, the date of the beginning of the investigation, the places which were visited during the investigation, statements from suspects, and witnesses, and the end date are to be noted down.
No irrelevant details must be present other than actual steps taken during the investigation details of witnesses should also be recorded, recommendations by IO (Investigating Officer) or any other supervising officer need not be mentioned. Diary should be kept with proper care with proper maintenance as the court can use it for aid, not as evidence. Entries should be made in prescribed order i.e. in chronological order without leaving any entry incomplete.
What if the Police Officer does false entries?
For dealing with false entries Section 177 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is present.
The reason why Case Diary are inadmissible in Court
Case Diary is indeed an Official Document but there is no surety of its contents being true as tampering with Case Diary is possible and false entries are also a reason for making Case Diary, not substantial evidence.
The exigency of Case Diary
The officers related to the investigation of the criminal case have the access to the case diary and it can be used for purpose of refreshing the memory. If a police officer uses the case diary during testifying i.e. court the accused then under Section 161 of the Indian Evidence Act,1872 can avail samethe right. Only the Trial Court and Police officer related to the investigation is allowed to refer to the Case Diary. Rajiv Singh vs The State of Bihar and Anr on 16 December 2015 is one of the cases where the importance of the Case Diary came into the limelight.
Emperor vs Mannu on 24 January 1920 by understanding the facts of this case one may understand the importance of the Case Diary.
In the case of Emperor vs Mannu, one may understand how case diaries are used by trial courts.
In this case, the trial court held that the case diary is to be used only for cross-questioning the police by whom the diary was made not to be used as evidence. Contents of the Case Diary may be used to give clarity to unclear points and to understand the chronology of the events. A case Diary can be used as an aid to frame a charge, not as evidence to frame a charge.
In this case, it was clarified and reiterated that the contents of the case diary are to be disregarded as legal evidence and are to be used for the exclusive purpose of cross-questioning the police officer who made the case diary. Even in that case, it does not mean that the entry can still be served as evidence, or was correct and true; it simply means that what is stated in the entry varies with the evidence given subsequently. Nothing in the diary has any evidentiary value; however, it may serve as giving clarity to vague points and understanding a proper occurrence of events before the decision of the case is decided. It can be used as an aid in framing a charge, not the cause of framing a charge.
Guidelines for using Police Diary
- Court can use the case diary for getting further evidence that might have been missed or to know about any witnesses which might have been missed.
- Court can use the Case Diary to know more about people involved who might have been missed by the court but can lead to evidence.
- High Court can go through the police diary to quash the lower court proceedings under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure if an application is filed for it in case of the correctness of the affidavit is at stake or if the correctness of the whole case is at stake.
The case diary is not available to the accused it is clear but doesn’t the question arises that
Does the Lawyer of the accused have access to Case Diary?
It is upon the discretion of the court that the court will allow that or not,Section 172 of the Code of Criminal Procedureallows defence counsel to refer to a case diary at the discretion of the court.
Contradicting the Officer Section 172(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedures allows the police officer testifying to refresh his memory using the case diary.
The Case Diary cannot influence the. Even if the defence requests the Court to refer to the diary, it cannot be used to reach a decision. The diary is to be used by the police officer who made it, and for refreshing memory. Case Diary is not accessible to any other witnesses. The accused is not provided with the right to ask the police officer to use the diary to refresh his memory.
Conclusion
It is clear that Case Diary play an important role first in the investigation by brushing up the facts for the investigating officer than in the court by becoming that link that can lead to answers to the crime. Case Diary has many a time been the turning point that leads the case to a whole new different aspect. So understanding the importance of this becomes the most important thing for all the police officers so that proper maintenance and due care can be put towards the diary so that whenever needed the diary can be of great use.
REFERENCES
- https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1330928/
- https://theprint.in/opinion/dont-just-blame-indias-courts-its-the-police-that-cant-solve-criminal-cases-in-time/337951/
- https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/crime_in_india_table_additional_table_chapter_reports/Chapter%2017_2010.pdf
- https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1974-02.pdf
- https://indiankanoon.org/docfragment/135240057/?big=0&formInput=case+diary++doctypes%3A+supremecourt
- https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1872-01.pdf
- https://indiankanoon.org/doc/135240057/
- https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1048941/
- https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1330928/
