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1981 Supreme(SC) 161

P.N.BHAGWATI, BAHARUL ISLAM
Khatri – Appellant
Versus
State Of Bihar – Respondent


Advocates:
A.Subhashini, D.GOVERDHAN CHARY, DAMODAR PRAKASH, Hingorani, K.G.Bhagat, K.HINGORANI, Mukul Mudgal

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:

  1. The case involves a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, concerning allegations of police misconduct, specifically the blindings of under-trial prisoners during police custody (!) .

  2. The primary issue is whether certain investigative documents called for by the Court are liable to be produced by the State or if their production is barred under specific legal provisions, namely Sections 162 and 172 of the Criminal Procedure Code (!) (!) .

  3. The documents in question include police reports, correspondence, and case-related files prepared during official investigations into allegations of police brutality and the blinding of prisoners (!) .

  4. The State contends that these documents are protected from disclosure under Sections 162 and 172 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which limit the use and production of police statements and case diaries during inquiries, trials, or investigations (!) (!) (!) .

  5. The Court clarifies that Sections 162 and 172 are limited to proceedings that are inquiries or trials concerning specific offenses and do not extend to civil proceedings or constitutional writ petitions under Article 32 (!) (!) .

  6. The Court emphasizes that the reports, being official records made by public officials in the discharge of their duties, are relevant and admissible under the Indian Evidence Act, particularly Section 35, which covers official records concerning facts in issue (!) (!) .

  7. The proceedings are not criminal inquiries or trials but a constitutional challenge under Article 32, aimed at enforcing fundamental rights. Therefore, the restrictions of Sections 162 and 172 do not apply to these documents in this context (!) .

  8. The Court underscores the importance of full disclosure of relevant facts in the pursuit of justice, noting that exceptions to this principle are strictly interpreted and do not justify blanket protection of investigative records in civil or constitutional proceedings (!) (!) .

  9. The Court directs the production of the relevant official reports and correspondence related to the investigation into the alleged police misconduct, emphasizing their relevance and admissibility as evidence (!) (!) .

  10. The Court also orders that copies of these documents be made available for the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, ensuring that the process is not impeded and is conducted expeditiously (!) .

These points summarize the Court's reasoning regarding the production and relevance of investigative documents in a constitutional writ petition concerning police misconduct.


ORDER :- The question which arises before us for consideration is whether certain documents called for by the Court by its order dated 16th Feb., 1981 are liable to be produced by the State or their production is barred under some provision of law. The documents called for are set out in the Order dated 16th Feb., 1981 and they are as follows :

1. the CID report submitted by L. V. Singh, DIG, CID (Anti-Dacoity) on Dec. 9, 1980 :

2. the CID reports on all the 24 cases submitted by L. V. Singh and his associates between January 10 and Jan. 20, 1981;

3. the letters number 4R dated 3rd Jan., 1981 and number 20/R dated 7th Jan.. 1981 from L. V. Singh to the IG, Police.

4. the files containing all correspondence and nothings exchanged between L. V. Singh, DIG and M. K. Jha, Additional IG, regarding the CID inquiry into the findings, and

5. the file presently in the office of the IG, S. K. Chatterjee containing the reports submitted by Inspector and Sub-Inspector of CID to Gajendra NaRam, DIG, Bhagalpur on 18th July or thereabouts and his letter to K. D. Singh, SP, CID, Patna which has the hand-written observations of Mr. M. K. Jha.

The State has objected to the production of these documents on






























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