Magistrate Has No Power To Direct SHO Of Police Station Outside His Jurisdiction For Probe: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

The magisterial power cannot be stretched under Section 156(3) beyond directing the officer in charge of a police station to conduct the investigation, the court said.

The Delhi High Court, in Ramesh Awasthi vs State, has held that a magistrate under Section 156 (3) CrPC cannot direct the Station House Officer of a police station beyond its territorial jurisdiction to investigate the crime.

A metropolitan magistrate, even after noting that there was not even a single allegation of commission of any kind of offence alleged to have been committed within the jurisdiction of PS New Ashok Nagar and the allegations were related to the workplace of the complainant which was Noida, UP, and not within the jurisdiction of PS New Ashok Nagar, directed the SHO, PS New Ashok Nagar, for registration of zero FIR and, thereafter, to transfer the same to the police station concerned having jurisdiction in the matter as per the procedure. The said order was challenged before the high court.

It was contended before the high court that a magistrate exercising jurisdiction under Section 156 (3) CrPC cannot direct registration of FIR and investigation thereon to a Station House Officer of a police station, which does not fall within its local territorial jurisdiction.

Justice Mukta Gupta, referring to precedents, observed that Section 154 CrPC, unlike Section 156 (1), does not prescribe for a restriction on registration of FIR in respect of an offence committed within the territorial jurisdiction of the police station and even if the offence might have been committed beyond the territorial jurisdiction of a police station, the officer in-charge of the police station would still register the FIR and investigate thereon.

“However, a Magistrate under Section 156 (3) CrPC cannot direct to an officer in-charge of a police station beyond its territorial jurisdiction,” the court said.

Read the Judgment here.