Conducting raid does not amount to investigation; Police not expected to wait for Magistrate's permission to conduct raid: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court recently held that a raid conducted by the Police will not come under the purview of investigation [Gopal Krishna and ors vs State of Karnataka]. .Police are not expected to obtain the Magistrate’s permission for conducting a raid when they have credible information about an incident such as andar-bahar (illegal gambling), Justice HP Sandesh of the High Court opined, dismissing a petition filed challenging a raid and subsequent investigation by Chikkamagaluru police.."The question that would arise before this Court is whether the Police have to seek for permission from the learned Magistrate before conducting the raid. The very contention of the petitioners that conducting the raid itself amounts to an investigation, cannot be accepted for the reason that when the credible information is received with regard to the persons who have indulged in Andar-Bahar, the Police are not expected to wait till they obtain permission from the learned Magistrate, and the permission is required only for the registration of the case," the order said. .The petition was filed by nine accused persons, accused of illegal gambling at Senior Citizens Service Centre in Chikkamagaluru in February 2020. The Basavanahalli police had seized Rs. 12,550 in cash and registered a First Information Report (FIR) after obtaining permission from the Magistrate. .The petitioners claimed that the police ought to have secured permission from the Magistrate as envisaged under Section 155 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before conducting the raid and investigation..The Court, after going through the facts and the rival contentions, observed that unless the accused is able to show that prejudice was cause to him because of police investigation, the trial and conviction will not be vitiated. ."In the case on hand, the FIR is registered subsequent to conducting of raid and prior to registering of FIR, permission is obtained from the Magistrate on 23.02.2020 vide separate order dated 24.02.2020. Unless the accused is able to show that prejudice is caused to him because of police investigation without the order of the Magistrate, the trial and conviction of the accused is not vitiated.".It was further observed by the Court that the raid was conducted after obtaining a search warrant from the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) under Section 81 of the Karnataka Police Act. “Section 81 (d) of Karnataka Police Act authorises to seize all instruments of gaming and all money and securities for money and articles of value, which are reasonably suspected to have been used as intended to be used for the purpose of gaming, which is found therein," the Court noted. .With these observations, the Court proceeded to dismiss the petition. .[Refer Judgment]