HC directs police officers to follow guidelines while summoning persons

‘Action must be within framework of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, coming across a number of petitions seeking a direction to restrain police officers from harassing persons named in a complaint, has directed authorities to follow the guidelines issued by the court.

Justice G. K. Ilanthiraiyan said police officers while summoning any person named in a complaint or witness shall summon the person through a written summon specifying a particular date and the time for appearing for the inquiry.

The police should serve the summons mentioning the CSR number, the date of the complaint and the name of the complainant. The minutes of the inquiry should be recorded in the general diary/station diary of the police station, the judge said.

Police officers should refrain from harassing the persons called for inquiry and the guidelines stipulated for preliminary inquiry or registration of the FIR by the Supreme Court should be strictly adhered to.

An inquiry into a non-cognizable offence or a cognizable offence was the unfettered power of the investigation officer so long as the power to investigate/inquire into these offences were legitimately exercised within the framework of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 

Though the Code of Criminal Procedure empowered the Magistrate to be a guardian in all stages of the police investigation, there was no power envisaging him to interfere with the actual investigation or the mode of investigation, the judge said.

It was against this background that numerous petitions complaining of harassment were being reported and filed before the court seeking directions to restrain the police officials from harassing the persons named in a complaint.