Respected sir,
Based on the above given facts you have charged the accused with very serious offences under the IPC i.e S/420 (Cheating of dishonestly inducting delivery of property) S/467 (Forgery of valuable security, will etc) S120b (Criminal conspiracy).There is a clear indication of a police cover-up as they tried to make it a civil case but the court was not satisfied and ordered a reinvestigation.
(1)Your main grievance is regarding the police investigation or the absence of it and is looking for a way you could involve the judiciary to take cognizance of the matter and instruct the police to investigate. Our lawmakers were very much aware about the wide discretionary powers provided to our police and thus a judicial oversight is necessary to maintain a balance.
The Code Of Criminal Procedure(CrPc) has provided provisions by which various Criminal courts are entitled to take cognizance of the offences-
Section 190. Cognizance of offences by Magistrates.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, any Magistrate of the first class, and any Magistrate of the second class specially empowered in this behalf under sub- section (2), may take cognizance of any offence-
(a) upon receiving a complaint of facts which constitute such offence;
(b) upon a police report of such facts;
(c) upon information received from any person other than a police officer, or upon his own knowledge, that such offence has been committed.
(2) The Chief Judicial Magistrate may empower any Magistrate of the second class to take cognizance under sub- section (1) of such offences as are within his competence to inquire into or try.
Section 156. Police officer's power to investigate cognizable case.
(1) Any officer in charge of a police station may, without the order of a Magistrate, investigate any cognizable case which a Court having jurisdiction over the local area within the limits of such station would have power to inquire into or try under the provisions of Chapter XIII.
(2) No proceeding of a police officer in any such case shall at any stage be called in question on the ground that the case was one which such officer was not empowered under this section to investigate.
(3) Any Magistrate empowered under section 190 may order such an investigation as above- mentioned.
A Complaint under S/190(1) (a) may be by word or mouth or in writing, it may be made even by post. The supreme court in Azija Begum V State Of Maharashtra has observed that “we find that every citizen of this country has a right to get his or her complaint properly investigated. The legal framework of investigation provided under our laws cannot be made selectively available only to some persons and denied to others, this is a question of equal protection of laws and is covered by the guarantee under Article 14(equality before law) of the Constitution”. When a complaint is filed before a magistrate ,the magistrate may simply order an investigation by the police and police may submit a report to the magistrate.
(2) I would advise you doing any such thing i.e. publishing the pictures in newspapers as it might have legal consequences.
(3)The case diary is a very important part of any case as it contains the sensitive information of the witnesses and cannot at no cost be shown to the accused. Its described in code of criminal procedure Section 172-Diary of proceeding in investigation
1. Every police officer making an investigation under this Chapter shall day by day enter his proceeding in the investigation in a diary, setting forth the time at which the information reached him, the time at which he began and closed his investigation, the place or places visited by Mm, and a statement of the circumstances ascertained through his investigation.
1A. The statements of witnesses recorded during the course of investigation under section 161 shall be inserted in the case diary.
1B. The diary referred to in sub-section (1) shall be a volume and duly paginated.
2. Any Criminal Court may send for the police diaries of a case under inquiry or trial in such Court, and may use such diaries, not as evidence in the case, but to aid it in such inquiry or trial.
3. Neither the accused nor his agents shall be entitled to call for such diaries, nor shall he or they be entitled to see them merely because they are referred to by the Court; but, if they are used by the police officer who made them to refresh his memory, or if the Court uses them for the purpose of contradicting such police officer, the provisions of section 161 or section 145, as the case may be, of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), shall apply.
However an aggrieved part can ask for or a portion of a case diary under Section 161 (Indian Evidence act) Right of adverse party as to writing used to refresh memory.—Any writing referred to under the provisions of the two last preceding sections must be produced and shown to the adverse party if he requires it; such party may, if he pleases, cross-examine the witness thereupon.
I hope this helps you
Sarthak Nayar
