A superior police officer, such as the Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Department, has the authority under Section 551 of the Criminal Procedure Code to transfer an investigation from one police station to another, including from a police station to the Detective Department.

Sometime in the year 1966 on information lodged at the instance of opposite party No. 1, the Detective Department of the Calcutta Police took up investigation into a case involving offences of cheating, forgery, conspiracy etc. against the present petitioner. In April 1967 the petitioner filed a complaint against opposite parties 1, 2 and 3 in the court of the police magistrate at Alipore alleging similar offences. The learned magistrate sent the complaint to the officer-in-charge of Watgunge police station for investigation. The order was made obviously under S.156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Subsequently, it appears, the investigating officer who was investigating the case earlier instituted at the instance of opposite party No. 1 moved the Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Department praying that that case as also the case of the Watgunge police station referred to above may be investigated by the same officer. On July 20, 1967 D. C., D. D. approved the proposal and directed one sub-inspector Seal, the investigating officer of the earlier case, to take up investigation of the Watgunge police station case too. Sub-Inspector Seal took up investigation of the other case and in due course intimated the police magistrate of the transfer of investigation thereof under criers of the D. C., D. D. It is against this order of transfer of investigation of the Watgunge police station case to the Detective Department that the present petitioner moved this Court and obtained the present Rule.

2. Mr. Banerjee appearing in support of the Rule contends that the officer in charge of the Watgunge police station having been directed by the police magistrate under S.156(3), Criminal P.C. to take cognizance of the offence and to investigate into the same, the D. C., D. D. had no authority to butt in and to transfer the case from him to his own department. This action of the D. C., D. D. is challenged as being in violation of the direction of the learned magistrate given under S.156(3), Criminal P.C. and as being wholly illegal.

3. Mr. Chatterjee appearing on behalf of the State refers to S.551 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and to Calcutta Gazette notification No. 1678 G dated March 10, 1958 which made that section applicable to the Calcutta police and contended that the D. C., D. D. being an officer superior in rank to the officer in charge of the Watgunge police station could very well have exercised the same power of investigation in regard to the present case as that officer in charge could have exercised under Ss.156 and 157, Criminal P.C.

4. Mr. Roy for the opposite party No. 1 also refers to S.551, Criminal P.C. and argued that in accordance with the provisions of that section the D. C., D. D., could very well have exercised the powers of the officer in charge of the Watgunge police station under Ss.156 and 157. Criminal P.C., and in exercise of that power he may very well have withdrawn the investigation from the officer of the police station who had been delegated that power of investigation by the officer-in-charge and then, transfer the investigation to another officer subordinate to himself. It was contended that in withdrawing the investigation and in transferring the investigation to another officer, the D. C., D. D., by virtue of his power under S.551 of the Code did not exceed the powers of the officer in charge of the Watgunge police station. This latter officer, so Mr. Roy argued, had delegated the investigation to a subordinate officer and he himself could have with, drawn the delegation and transferred the investigation to some other officer because a power of delegation implies also a power of withdrawing such delegation. The action of the D. C., D. D., in the circumstances of this case did not exceed the powers that the officer in charge of the Watgunge police station could have exercised.

5. The order of a Magistrate under S.156(3), Criminal P.C., is merely a direction on the officer in charge of the polic