Magistrate has power to monitor investigation under Section 156(3) CrPC: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has recently observed that a Magistrate has the power to 'monitor' investigation under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and a person who is aggrieved by police probe can move Magistrate for monitoring the probe [Satyaprakash v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Other].A Division Bench of Justices Anjani Kumar Mishra and Deepak Verma was adjudicating a petition moved by one Satyaprakash, seeking direction to the respondent authorities to conduct a fair investigation into a criminal case under Sections 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc) of the Indian Penal Code. It was the case of the petitioner that the police was acting in collusion with the accused persons and neither were the accused persons arrested nor any charge sheet filed against them.Further, the petitioner was aggrieved by the manner in which the investigation was being conducted..At the outset, the Court relied on a decision of the Supreme Court in Sudhir Bhaskarrao Tambe v. Hemant Yashwant Dhage (2016) 6 SCC 277, wherein it was observed that person having grievance with regard to proper investigation not being done by the authorities, can move an application before the Magistrate concerned under Section 156(3) CrPC and thereby, the Magistrate thereby can direct proper investigation to be done and can also monitor the investigation.In Sudhir Bhaskarrao Tambe, the top court had relied on its earlier decision in Sakiri Vasu v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2008) 2 SCC 409, in which the Court had observed that if a person has a grievance that his FIR has not been registered by the police, or proper investigation is not being done, then the person can approach the Magistrate concerned under Section 156(3) CrPC, the Magistrate can thereby direct the FIR to be registered, or he can also direct proper investigation to be done..Moreover, the Court also relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in TC Thangaraj v. V Engammal (2011) 12 SCC 328 and M Subramaniam and another v. S Janaki and Another, to emphasize that the Magistrate has the power to monitor investigation under Section 156(3) CrPC.The Supreme Court in M Subramaniam had affirmed the decision in Sakiri Vasu and observed that:"Section 156 (3) is wide enough to include all such powers in a Magistrate which are necessary for ensuring a proper investigation, and it includes the power to order registration of an FIR and of ordering a proper investigation if the Magistrate is satisfied that a proper investigation has not been done, or is not being done by the police. Section 156 (3) CrPC, though briefly worded, in our opinion, is very wide and it will include all such incidental powers as are necessary for ensuring a proper investigation."While disposing of the present petition, the High Court granted liberty to the petitioner to invoke the power of the Magistrate available under the CrPC in the light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court as above-mentioned..Advocates Mohammad Khalid and Pawan Kumar Yadav appeared for the petitioner..[Read Judgment]