IMPORTANT POINTS
The final report may contain documents and evidence which would otherwise be admissible in evidence apart from the final report submitted under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. or supplementary report under Section 173(8) Cr.P.C. and the conclusion thereof made by the investigating officer besides the statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C.

JUDGMENT :

The appeal is against the dismissal of a claim petition by the Claims Tribunal based on the finding of sole negligence on the part of petitioner and relied on the final report submitted by the Police in connection with the alleged motor vehicle accident without taking into account the oral evidence tendered by PW1, the report of motor vehicle inspector prepared on the vehicle involved in the accident, the scene mahazar and the other records pertaining to the alleged incident. The Tribunal relied solely on the final report submitted by the Police in connection with the alleged motor vehicle accident and found that the accident took place due to the sole negligence of the petitioner.

2. It is trite that the result of investigation can never be legal evidence. The legal position was well settled by the Apex Court in Vijender v. State of Delhi [(1997) 6 SCC 171] as under:

“The reliance of the trial Judge on the result of investigation to base his finding is again patently wrong. If the observation of the trial Judge in this regard is taken to its logical conclusion it would mean that a finding of guilt can be recorded against an accused without a trial, relying solely upon the police report submitted under Section 173 Cr.P.C. which is the outcome of an investigation. The result of investigation under Chapter XII of the Criminal Procedure Code is a conclusion that an investigating officer draws on the basis of materials collected during investigation and such conclusion can only form the basis of a competent court to take cognizance thereupon under Section 190(1)(b) Cr.P.C. and to proceed with the case for trial, where the materials collected during investigation are to be translated into legal evidence. The trial court is then required to base its conclusion solely on the evidence adduced during the trial, and it cannot rely on the investigation or the result thereof. Since this is an elementary principle of criminal law, we need not dilate on this point any further.”

3. The said legal position was reiterated by the Apex Court in Kaptan Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh [(1997) 6 SCC 211]. Does it mean that the entire final report would be out of legal consideration when it was not translated into evidence ? The answer is 'no' simply on the reason that the final report may contain documents and evidence which would otherwise be admissible in evidence apart from the final report submitted under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. or supplementary report under Section 173(8) Cr.P.C. and the conclusion thereof made by the investigating officer besides the statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C.

4. It is the basic principle that a report under Section 173 (2) or 173 (8) of Cr.P.C. cannot by itself is a substitute for legal proof. But, it may be wrong to eschew the entire final report in the matter of tortious liability, unless translated the same into legal evidence. A final report under Sections 173(2) Cr.P.C. must be in compliance with the requirement under Clauses (a) to (h) thereof, such as name of parties, nature of information, the witness involved, nature of offence committed, whether the accused was arrested, whether he was forwarded to the Magistrate under Section 170 Cr.P.C. or released on bail, medical examination of victim when investigation relates to offence of rape under Section 176 and 176 A to 176 C of IPC. It must also satisfy the requirement under sub-sections (3) to (7) to Section 173 Cr.P.C., which includes submission of all documents or relevant extract thereof on which the prosecution propose to rely besides the statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. of the persons whom the prosecution propose to examine as its witnesses. In the matter of supplementary report under Section 173 (8) Cr.P.C. also, the same requirement under sub-sections (3) to (7) has to be complied with by submitting additional document or relevant extract thereof on which the prosecution propose to rely besides any additional statement or new