New Delhi, November 09: The Supreme Court has held that the police or other investigating agencies are bound to investigate a case even if they did not have a territorial jurisdiction to do so if there is a specific direction from the court.
“We are of the firm view that the powers vested in the investigating authorities, under Section 156 (1) CrPC did not restrict the jurisdiction of the investigating agency to investigate into a complaint even if it did not have territorial jurisdiction,” a bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph ruled.
According to the apex court “unlike in other cases, it was for the court to decide whether it had the jurisdiction to entertain a complaint as and when the entire facts are placed before it.”
The ruling assumes significance as the police usually toss a complainant from one police station to another on the issue of jurisdiction.
The apex court passed the ruling in a judgement while rejecting the arguments of the Economic Offences Wing, CID (crime) of the Gujarat police in a case relating to alleged embezzlement of funds from Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd.
In this case, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had under Section 156 (3) directed the CID to take up investigations in the matter on a bunch of complaints.
–Agencies