This article has been written by Bidisha Banerjee, a 2nd year B.A LL.B student of Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College, University of Calcutta.
INTRODUCTION
Chargesheet refers to a formal police document which is preceded by an investigation.
A four-part charging instrument, a charge sheet contains
- Information regarding the accused and the witnesses
- Charges and Specifications
- Preferring of Charges and their Referral to a Summary.
- For Trial Records
A charge sheet is filed after first information reports(FIRs). This document charges person(s) for some or all of the crimes mentioned in the FIRs. Once submitted to the court of law, the onus falls on the court of law to determine who among the accused has adequate prima facie evidence to be put up on trial. As soon as the charge sheet gets submitted to the court of law, prosecution proceedings against the accused start in the judicial system.
BODY
In K.VEERASWAMI v. UNION OF INDIA(1991), charge sheet is defined as “nothing but a final report of a police officer under Section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C(Criminal PRocedure Code)”. This report is a way to intimate to the magistrate that after investigating into a cognizable offence, the Investigation Officer has come across sufficient evidence for the court to inquire into the offence and the necessary information pertaining to the case is being sent to the court. In fact, the report under Section 173(2) is considered to be an opinion of the Investigating Officer that as far as he is concerned he has been able to dig up sufficient information for the trial of the accused by the Court. The report is complete if it is accompanied with all the documents and statements of witnesses required by Section 175(5). There is nothing more that needs to be stated in the report of the Investigating Officer. Also, all the details of the offence need not be stated. The details of the offence are required to be proved to bring home the guilt to the accused at a later stage i.e. in the course of the trial of the case by adducing acceptable evidence.
Section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C says that the Investigating officer has to submit the report, in a manner prescribed by the State Government, containing the following information:
- the names of the parties;
- the nature of the information;
- the names of the persons who appear to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case;
- whether any offence appears to have been committed and, if so, by whom;
- whether the accused has been arrested;
- whether he has been released on his bond and, if so, weather with or without sureties;
- whether he has been forwarded in custody under section 170.
YOUTH BAR ASSOCIATION OF INDIA v. UNION OF INDIA(2016) is a landmark case, where it was held that a charge sheet is not a public document. According to the Apex Court, a chargesheet cannot be made publicly available as it’s not a ‘public document’ under Sections 74 and 76 of the Evidence Act, 1872. Section 74 defines public documents as those which form the acts or records of sovereign authority, official bodies, tribunals, and of public offices either legislative, judicial or executive in any part of India, Commonwealth or a foreign country. It also includes public records “kept in any State of private documents”. Documents mentioned in this section are only public documents, and certified copies of them must be provided by the public authority having custody of them. Copy of chargesheets along with necessary public documents cannot be said to be public documents under this section. Section 76 states that any public officer having custody of such documents must provide a copy upon demand and payment of a legal fee, along with a certificate of attestation that states the date, seal, name, and designation of the officer. As per Section 75 of the Evidence Act, all documents other than those listed under Section 74 are private documents.
There exists a time limit to file a charge sheet and it is related to the arrest of the accused. The charge sheet must be filed within 60 days from the date of arrest, in cases triable by lower courts and, within 90 days, in cases triable by Court of Sessions.
For instance, an FIR was filed against a person, who could not be traced and as a result, the arrest was halted for many years. His name is on the Wanted Accused register. Now suppose, out of the blue, he gets traced after two years, and he finally gets arrested. Then, the time limit comes into play. The charge sheet has to be filed in the way mentioned above.
QUASHING PETITION WHEN CHARGE SHEET HAS BEEN FILED
In ANAND KUMAR MOHATTA AND ANR v STATE (GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI)(2018), the Supreme Court held that a petition can be quashed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973(Cr.P.C), even though a charge sheet has already been filed.
The Supreme Court held that while exercising the power under section 482 of the CRPC, the court can quash the FIR even if the charge sheet has been filed, as the power under section 482 is to be exercised to prevent the abuse of process and miscarriage of justice. The Supreme Court also emphasised that powers under section 482 of the CRPC can be exercised even if a discharge application before the Magistrate’s Court is pending. This has provided clarity that was required regarding the applicability of the said provision in situations where criminal prosecution progresses, in spite of fundamental challenge to its maintainability.
STEPS BETWEEN AN FIR AND A CHARGE SHEET
Step 1:
Forwarding report to the Magistrate (for a non-cognizable offence):
On receiving information regarding a non-cognizable offence, the police can record the information and refer the informant to the Magistrate. Without the Magistrate order, police can neither file an FIR nor can start investigating a non-cognizable offence.
Spot investigation (for a cognizable offence)
If an officer-in-charge of a police station suspects that a cognizable offence has been committed, they can file an FIR immediately, send a report to the concerned Magistrate, and personally go (or depute a subordinate officer to go) to the spot where the offence has been committed. They investigate the facts and circumstances of the case, and if necessary, take measures for the discovery and arrest of the offender.
Step 2: Magistrate’s order
After receiving the report, the concerned Magistrate can:
- Direct an investigation; or
- Immediately proceed with a preliminary inquiry into the case; or
- Dispose of the case.
Step 3: Examining witnesses
While investigating a case, a police officer can order (in writing) a person, who may have knowledge regarding the case, to present themselves for questioning as a witness. However, the witness has to be questioned at their residence itself, if they are:
- A man below fifteen years or above sixty-five years
- Woman
- A person with a mental or physical disability.
The officer can orally question any person, familiar with the case. The witness has to truthfully answer all case-related questions. The police officer can write down the witness statements. The officer should make a separate and true record of each witness statement. The witness need not to sign the written statement recorded by the officer. The witness statement can also be recorded in an audio-video format.
Step 4: Search
If an investigating officer reasonably believes that something necessary for the investigation may be found in any place within the limits of their police station, they can search for it there.
The officer must believe that the search is necessary for obtaining the thing without undue delay. They must record in writing why they believe that the search is necessary, and the target of the search (as far as possible), before conducting the search.
Step 5: Filing a Charge sheet
ONce the investigation is completed, the officer-in-charge of the police station will forward a final police report to the concerned Magistrate, which is called the charge sheet.
REFERENCE
https://www.aishwaryasandeep.in/what-is-a-chargesheet/
https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1338-what-is-fir-and-chargesheet-.html
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chargesheet-not-a-public-document