INDIRA BANERJEE, P.N. PRAKASH, JJ.

1. This specially constituted Division Bench is required to decide the following issue:

"Are the police entitled to be furnished with copies of the following documents immediately"

i statement of witness recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C., 1973;

ii Confession statement of the accused recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C., 1973;

iii Dying declaration recorded by the Magistrate; and

iv Test Identification Parade report of the Magistrate.

2. Before venturing to answer the aforesaid issue, it may be apposite to briefly recount the circumstances which led to the constitution of this Bench, for which, it may be necessary to succinctly state the facts obtaining in the case at hand.

2.1. Accused "X", who is deaf and dumb, is the Correspondent-cum-Secretary of a school for the deaf and dumb, where, four girl children, viz., "A", "B", "C" and "D", who are also deaf and dumb, were resident-students. It was alleged by "A" that the accused "X" sexually abused her over a period of time and started blackmailing her for his carnal pleasure. She also conceived through "X" and was subjected to undergo abortion in a hospital at his instance. When "X" started sexually abusing other girl students as well, "A" decided to spill the beans, resulting in the police registering a case in Cr.No.207 of 2017 for the offences under Sections 376(2), 376(2)(d), 376(2)(n), 376(2)(i), 376-C, 313, 109 and 506(i) IPC and the said case is now under investigation by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, P.E.W., Coimbatore District. While so, "X" was arrested on 09.05.2017 and was under judicial custody.

2.2. The police, in the course of investigation, recorded the statements of the victims of "X", viz., "A", "B", "C" and "D" under Section 161(3), Cr.P.C., 1973 and gave a requisition to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Coimbatore, for nominating a Judicial Magistrate to record the statements of the victims under Section 164 Cr.P.C., 1973 The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Coimbatore, by order dated 11.05.2017, directed the Judicial Magistrate, Special Court for Land Grabbing Cases, Coimbatore, to record the statements of the four victims under Section 164 Cr.P.C., 1973 Accordingly, the Judicial Magistrate for Land Grabbing Cases, Coimbatore, recorded the 164 Cr.P.C. statements of "A" and "B" on 29.06.2017 and such statements of "C" and "D" on 30.06.2017. Since all the four victims were deaf and dumb, the Magistrate requisitioned the services of an Interpreter and had their 164 Cr.P.C. statements recorded.

2.3. When the bail application preferred by "X" came up for hearing before one of us (P.N. Prakash, J.) on 03.07.2017, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was present in the Court, was called upon to submit the case diary for the purpose of perusing the 164 Cr.P.C. statements of the victims. The Deputy Superintendent of Police informed the Court that, albeit the statements were recorded by the Magistrate as early as 29.06.2017 and 30.06.2017, the police have not been furnished with copies of the same and that the police would have to make a copy application for getting the same from the jurisdictional Magistrate and only thereafter, the same would be furnished to them.

2.4. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that in the State of Tamil Nadu, if the Investigating Officer wants to have the 164 Cr.P.C. statement of a victim or witness recorded, he has to undertake the following steps:

1. Make an application before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate, as the case may be, for nominating a Magistrate for recording the 164 Cr.P.C. statement.

2. The CMM/CJM will then nominate a Magistrate.

3. Pursuant thereto, after ascertaining the convenience of the said Magistrate, the victim/witness should be produced before the Magistrate, who records the 164 Cr.P.C. statement of the victim/witness.

4. After recording the statement, the Magistrate sends the same in a sealed cover to the jurisdictional Court.

5. The Investigat