N. Anand Venkatesh, J.

An important issue has arisen for consideration in these cases with regard to the procedure that is being followed by the Police in a case where an FIR is registered under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code. The learned Government Advocate (Crl.Side) appearing for the Police submitted that as a routine practice, in all cases registered under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if in the Course of investigation, the Police finds that no offence has been made out, the Final Report is filed only before the Executive Magistrate and the entire case is closed thereafter. By adopting such a procedure, it was noticed that the Final Report does not reach the concerned Magistrate Court within whose jurisdiction the FIR was registered. Therefore, the de facto complainant in all such cases are kept in dark and they are not even aware about the fate of the case. Neither the Executive Magistrate nor the Police inform about the Final Report filed by the Investigating Officer to the de facto Complainant. In almost all cases registered under Section 174 of Cr.P.C., the victim would have lost his son or daughter or husband or wife or father or mother and other close kith and kin and they will be completely unaware as to the fate of the complaint given by them.

2. In some of the cases, the victim approaches this Court by filing a petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. seeking for a direction to transfer the Investigating Agency or seeking for a direction to the Police to file a Final Report and at that point of time, they come to know that the Investigating Officer had already closed the case and filed a Final Report before the Executive Magistrate. This Court found this practice to be erroneous and in violation of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

3. In order to set right this erroneous practice and in order to issue proper guidelines to be followed in a case registered under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code, this Court thought it fit to get the views of the legal fraternity.

4. This Court framed the following question and sought for the views of the various Bar Associations and requested them to assist the Court.

(i) Where a First Information Report is registered under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code and in the course of investigation, the police finds that no offence has been made out, where should the final report be filed? In the instant case, it is found that the final report has been filed by the police before the Revenue Divisional Officer, Thanjavur. In this regard, the learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) appearing for the respondents submits that this is the procedure that is being followed in all cases, wherever the First Information Report is registered under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code and the police on investigation finds that no offence has been made out.

5. The provisions of Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code is extracted hereunder :

S.174. (1) When the officer-in-charge of a police station or some other police officer specially empowered by the State Government in that behalf receives information that a person has committed suicide, or has been killed by another or by an animal or by machinery or by an accident, or has died under circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence, he shall immediately give intimation thereof to the nearest Executive Magistrate empowered to hold inquests, and, unless otherwise directed by any rule prescribed by the State Government, or by any general or special order of the District or Sub-divisional Magistrate, shall proceed to the place where the body of such deceased person is, and there, in the presence of two or more respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood shall make an investigation, and draw up a report of the apparent cause of death, describing such wounds, fractures, bruises, and other marks of injury as may be found on the body, and stating in what manner