Madras HC Lays Down Guidelines For Recording Of Witness Statements, Confessions, Dying Declarations & TIP Reports [Read Judgment]

The Madras High Court has laid down guidelines for recording and production of statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.The directions were issued by a Special Division bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice P.N. Prakash. The Bench was constituted after Justice Prakash came across a bail plea of a hearing and speech impaired person accused of sexually exploiting at least four other hearing and speech impaired people.Apart from the guidelines, the Bench has also directed the State to construct special rooms for conduct of Test Identification Parades in all prisons within six months. Such rooms, it said, should have one-way glass partitions so that the suspects and those paraded along with them do not get to see the witnesses at the time of identification.In this regard, the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy and the Tamil Nadu State Police Academy has been directed to take effective steps to sensitize the Judicial Officers and police officers respectively.Statement of victim/witness A statement of a witness/victim can be recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. only at the instance of the Investigating Officer of the case. It is not necessary for the Investigating Officer to approach the CMM/CJM with an application for nominating a Magistrate to record the statement of a witness/victim under Section 164 Cr.P.C. The Presiding Officer of a Special Court which has been empowered to take cognizance of an offence without there being a need for committal may also record the statement of a witness/victim under Section 164 Cr.P.C. on the request of the Investigating Officer of the case. After recording the statement of a witness/victim under Section 164 Cr.P.C., the Judge/Magistrate shall arrange to take two photocopies of such statement, under his direct supervision and certify the same as true copies. He shall furnish one such certified photocopy of the statement to the Investigating Officer, free of cost, immediately, with a specific direction to the latter to use it only for the purpose of investigation and not to make its contents public, until the investigation is completed and final report filed. The other certified photocopy of such statement shall be kept in a sealed cover in the safe custody of the Judge/Magistrate. If the Magistrate who had recorded the 164 Cr.P.C. statement is not the jurisdictional Magistrate, he shall send the original statement to the jurisdictional Court, either through a special messenger or by registered post with acknowledgment due. If the Judge/Magistrate who had recorded the 164 Cr.P.C. statement is himself the jurisdictional Magistrate, he shall keep the original of the statement in the case records.Confession statement of the accused The Investigating Officer shall make an application before the CMM/CJM for nominating a Magistrate, other than the jurisdictional Magistrate, to record the confession statement of an accused. After recording the confession statement of an accused, the recording Magistrate shall arrange to take two photocopies of the same under his direct supervision and certify the same as true copies. The confession statement, in original, shall be sent in a sealed cover to the jurisdictional Magistrate or Court, as the case may be, through a special messenger or by registered post with acknowledgment due. One certified copy of the confession statement shall be immediately furnished to the Investigating Officer, free of cost, with a specific direction to him, to use it only for the purpose of investigation and not to make its contents public, until the investigation is completed and final report filed. The other certified photocopy of the confession statement shall be kept in a sealed cover in the safe custody of the recording Magistrate.Dying declaration After recording the dying declaration, the Magistrate shall arrange to take two photocopies of the same under his direct supervision and certify the same as true copies. The dying declaration in original shall be sent in a sealed cover to the jurisdictional Magistrate or Court, as the case may be, through a special messenger or by registered post with acknowledgment due. One such certified photocopy of the dying declaration shall be furnished by the Magistrate to the Investigating Officer of the case free of cost, immediately, with a specific direction to the latter to use it only for the purpose of investigation and not to make its contents public, until the investigation is completed and final report filed. The other certified photocopy of the dying declaration shall be kept in a sealed cover in the safe custody of the Magistrate.Test Identification Parade reports An application for conduct of Test Identification Parade, shall be made under Section 54-A of the Code by the Investigating Officer, to the Court having jurisdiction. On such application being made, the Court may direct the person so arrested to subject himself to identification. The Court shall make a...

Madras HC Lays Down Guidelines For Recording Of Witness Statements, Confessions, Dying Declarations & TIP Reports [Read Judgment]

Apoorva Mandhani

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