High Court Test 7
10 min40 WPM required466 words
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The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is the statute that provides the procedural framework for the investigation, inquiry, and trial of criminal offences in India, governing the entire process from the registration of a complaint or FIR through investigation, arrest, bail, committal, trial, judgment, and appeal. The First Information Report, commonly known as the FIR, is the document registered by a police officer in charge of a police station upon receipt of information about the commission of a cognisable offence — one in which the police have the power to arrest without a warrant and to investigate without the order of a magistrate. The FIR must be reduced to writing by the officer receiving the information, read over to the informant, signed by them, and a copy given to the informant free of charge. The registration of an FIR is mandatory upon receipt of information disclosing a cognisable offence, and the Supreme Court in the Lalita Kumari case held that the police have no discretion to conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR in cognisable offences. Bail is the provisional release of an arrested person from custody upon execution of a personal bond and a surety bond, and the right to bail and the conditions for its grant differ depending on the nature of the offence. Bailable offences, specified in the First Schedule to the CPC, entitle the accused to bail as a matter of right; non-bailable offences are those for which bail is at the discretion of the court. Section 439 of the CPC confers jurisdiction on the Sessions Court and the High Court to grant bail in non-bailable offences, and these courts exercise this jurisdiction taking into account the nature and gravity of the accusation, the likelihood of the accused fleeing, the possibility of tampering with witnesses, and the criminal antecedents of the accused. The investigation of a cognisable offence is conducted by the police, who have the power to search, seize evidence, record statements of witnesses under Section 161, conduct identification parades, and send the accused for medical examination. Upon completion of investigation, the police file either a chargesheet under Section 173 if there is sufficient evidence, or a closure report if the investigation reveals that no offence has been committed or the accused cannot be identified. The trial of sessions cases and warrant cases involves committal proceedings, framing of charges, recording of prosecution evidence, examination of the accused under Section 313, and then defence evidence if offered, followed by arguments and judgment. The Code provides specific safeguards against the abuse of process — the double jeopardy protection under Section 300, the protection against self-incrimination, the right to legal representation, and the right to a speedy trial recognised by the Supreme Court as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.