Further Investigation Can Be Conducted Even After Trial Has Commenced; No Permission Required From Court: Kerala HC [Read Judgment]

The Kerala High Court has observed that it is not necessary for the investigating officer to seek any permission from the court to conduct further investigation.

Justice R. Narayana Pisharadi also observed that there is no restriction on the power of the investigating officer to conduct further investigation after the commencement of the trial of the case.

In Mariamma John @ Mercy vs. Deputy Superintendent Of Police, three contentions were raised by the accused challenging the further investigation 1) Further investigation cannot be conducted after the commencement of the trial of the case by the court. (2) The reasons stated for conducting further investigation are not sustainable in law. (3) Further investigation to rectify the defects in the investigation already conducted is not permissible.

Referring to Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Supreme Court decision in Rama Chaudhary v. State : AIR 2009 SC 2308, the court said:

"Even without any permission from the court, investigating officer has power to conduct further investigation. It is only as a matter of courtesy that the investigating officer is required to inform the court regarding the further investigation being conducted in the case so as to enable the court to stop the trial of the case and to await the report in respect of such investigation."

The court also found no merit in the contention that many witnesses have already been examined in the case and that further investigation cannot be conducted after commencement of the trial of the case. There is no restriction on the power of the investigating officer to conduct further investigation after the commencement of the trial of the case, it said.

The court also noted that, further investigation in this case was proposed to be conducted in the case to cure some procedural and technical irregularities in the filing of the charge sheet. The fact that further investigation is being conducted to cure some procedural or technical irregularities in the charge sheet already filed before the court, cannot be a sufficient ground to issue a direction to the investigating officer to drop such investigation, Justice Pisharadi said.

While dismissing the petition, the Court said that an accused in a case has no right with reference to the manner of investigation or the mode of prosecution. 

Author's note:

It is pertinent to point out that, in a recent judgment [Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya vs. State of Gujarat] which held that a Magistrate has power to order further investigation into an offence, even at a post cognizance stage, untill the trial commences, the Supreme Court has noted (in Para 19) thus:

"With the introduction of Section 173(8) in the CrPC, the police department has been armed with the power to further investigate an offence even after a police report has been forwarded to the Magistrate. Quite obviously, this power continues until the trial can be said to commence in a criminal case."

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