A Police Officer who is empowered to Investigate a cognizable offence must be deemed to be authorised to investigate and mention in his report any incidental offences which arise out of the facts relating to the main offence, even where such offences are non-cognizable and would fall under Section 155 if reported separately and simply as non-cognizable offence.

D.Falshaw, J.

1. This revision petition filed on behalf of Mr. Ram Krishana Dalmia has arisen in the following circumstances.

2. On 21-9-1955 a first information report was drawn up and a case registered under Section 409, Indian Penal Code, by the Special Police Establishment, Delhi, in which the principal allegation was that the present petitioner had committed criminal breach of trust in respect of an enormous sum of money over Rs. 2,00,00,000/- belonging to one of the companies in which he had a controlling interest. The petitioner was arrested very promptly and released on bail, but it was only after a long investigation that, on 26-11-1956, the Special Police Establishment presented a charge sheet under Section 173, Criminal Procedure Code, in the Court of the Magistrate against the petitioner and eight other accused on various charges, including Ss. 409 and 477-A, 409 read with 120-B, 477-A read with 110 and 477-A read with 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The sanction necessary under Section 196-A, Criminal Procedure Code, for the prosecution of the accused had been obtained in the form of an order from the Chief Commissioner of Delhi sanctioning their prosecution under Sections 409 and 477-A read with 120-B, Indian Penal Code.

3. The nature of the case is such that for its proper trial it will have to be committed to the Sessions Court, and the question has arisen at the instance of the accused at a preliminary stage of the proceedings in the Court of the Magistrate whether the commitment proceedings should be in the summary form provided in Section 207-A, Criminal Procedure Code, or whether the full commitment proceedings provided in Section 208, which are on the old lines of commitment proceedings before the Criminal Procedure Code was amended in 1956, should be adopted, the latter being claimed by the accused as their legal right.

4. The difference between the two sections is that the summary proceedings under Section 207-A are to be adopted in any proceedings instituted on a Police report forwarded by the Police under Section 173 of the Code, whereas the procedure provided in Section 208 is to be adopted in any proceeding Instituted otherwise than upon a police report.

5. In view of the fact stated above it hardly seems to me to be possible to maintain for a moment that the case against the petitioner and his co-accused is not a proceeding instituted on a police report received by the Magistrate under Section 173. The point raised, however, which has been rejected by the learned Magistrate against whose order this revision petition has been filed, is that although an offence under Section 409, Indian Penal Code, is undoubtedly cognizable by the police, an offence under Section 477-A is non-cognizable, and reliance is placed on the provisions of Section 155 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Sub-section (1) provides that when information is given to an officer-in-charge of a police station of the commission of a non-cognizable offence, he shall enter in a boot to be kept as aforesaid (i. e. as provided in Section 154 for the recording of the information regarding cognizable offence) the substance of such information and refer the informant to the Magistrate. Sub-section (2) provides that no police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of the Magistrate of the first or second class having power to try such case, and Sub-section (3) provides that any Police Officer receiving such order may exercise the same powers in respect of the investigation except the power to arrest without warrant as an officer-in-charge of a police station may exercise in a cognizable case.

6. It is not In dispute in this case that the Special Police Establishment at no stage obtained permission from any Magistrate to investigate the non-cognizable offence under Section 477-A, Indian Penal Code, and the argument is that since the provisions of Section 155 (2) are mandatory, the Police report, at least as far as