Investigation under IPC must be completed within 90 days; absence of CFSL report does not invalidate a complete police report.

1. In this application for the grant of bail for the petitioner Taj Singh in case FIR No. 196/86 under S.307/302/34 IPC and S.25/54/59 Arms Act of Police Station Narela the short question which calls for determination is as to whether investigation of the case would be said to be complete in terms of S. 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short the Code), when the Investigating Officer submitted the challan before the Magistrate on 27-1-87 (the 90th day in terms of the proviso (a)(i) to sub-sec. (2) of S. 167 of the Code) without appending thereto the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi (hereinafter to be referred to as CFSL) which report has been made admissible in evidence under S. 293 of the Code without the same being proved in the ordinary manner by the deposition of the expert making the same, in the witness - box.

2. Before embarking upon the decision of this legal point it would be desirable to point out a few dates germane to this case. The occurrence took place on 29-10-1986 and the petitioner Taj Singh was arrested as an accused on the next day, i.e. 30-10-86. The material exhibits, i.e. clothes and the knife were taken into possession by the police on 30-10-1986 and sent to CFSL on 1-1-1987 for opinion and report back to the Station House Officer of P. S. Narela and the same were despatched by CFSL to Station House Officer, Narela vide communication dated 27-1-1987. It is not known whether it reached the Investigating Officer on that very day or on some subsequent date. It was, however, stated at the Bar by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the Investigating Officer though relied upon the report of CFSL, did not append the same with the charge - sheet while forwarding the charge - sheet to the Magistrate for taking cognizance of the offence under S. 190 of the Code. Whether the Investigating Officer had actually received or not the CFSL report when he forwarded the challan on the 90th day, i.e. on 27-1-1987, the fact remains that the charge - sheet was complete minus the CFSL report.

3. Under the proviso to sub-sec. (2) of S. 167 of the Code the detention of an accused person in a case as the present one cannot be authorised by the magistrate beyond a total period of 90 days where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years, and on the expiry of the said period of 90 days the accused person must be released on bail if he is prepared to and does furnish bail. S. 167 of the Code embracing this provision of law is reproduced below:
"S. 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty - four hours -
(1) Whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody, and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within the period of twenty - four hours fixed by S.57, and there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well - founded, the officer in charge of the police station or the police officer making the investigation if he is not below the rank of sub-inspector, shall forthwith transmit to the nearest Judicial Magistrate a copy of the entries in the diary hereinafter prescribed relating to the case, and shall at the same time forward the accused to such Magistrate.
(2) The Magistrate to whom an accused person is forwarded under this section may, whether he has or has not jurisdiction to try this case, from time to time, authorise the detention of the accused in such custody as such Magistrate thinks fit, for a term not exceeding fifteen days in the whole; and if he has no jurisdiction