Issues
- Whether a person can be convicted of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B IPC solely for having concealed the location of the incriminating materials/ articles and, in the absence of any evidence establishing meeting of the minds in case all the other accused have been acquitted?
- Duties and responsibilities of Investigating Officer under Chapter XII of Code of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973?
- Whether the court below, while acquitting all the other co-accused in connection with the same crime, erred in not returning a finding qua the instant appellant – a co-accused in respect of a charged framed under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Held
- Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the Appellant as the criminal conspiracy could not be established. Moreover, Court also recorded that numerous infirmities affected the conduct of the Investigation Officer, calling into question credibility of the investigation conducted by him or upon his directions.
Essential conditions to prove the charge of criminal conspiracy - For the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, to be established, an agreement between the parties to do an unlawful act must exist. In some cases, direct evidence to establish conspiracy may be absent, but when the lack of evidence is apparent, it is not safe to hold a person guilty under this section. To prove the offence of criminal conspiracy, it is imperative to show a meeting of the minds between the conspirators for the intended common object. It was observed by a two¬ judge bench of this Court in Parveen v. State of Haryana, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 1184, that “A few bits here and a few bits there on which prosecution relies, cannot be held to be adequate for connecting the accused with the commission of crime of criminal conspiracy.”
- Keeping this abovesaid principle in view, we believe that the present appellant cannot be convicted of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B, Indian Penal Code, 1860, solely for having concealed the location of the incriminating materials/ articles and, in the absence of any evidence establishing meeting of the minds. Given that all the other co-accused have been acquitted by the courts below, meaning they were innocent of the crime, the fundamental requirement of a criminal conspiracy is not met.
- Needless to say, the charge of criminal conspiracy also fails on the ground that a single person cannot hatch a conspiracy.
Investigation Officer duty bound to comply with the procedure stipulated in Chapter XII of CrPC. - The Investigating Officer is the person tasked with determining a direction, the pace, manner and method of the investigation. In Amarnath Chaubey v. Union of India (2021) 11 SCC 80, it was observed that the police has a primary duty to investigate upon receiving the report of the commission of crime. In Manohar Lal Sharma v. Union of India (2014) 2 SCC 532, this Court observed that one of the responsibilities of the police is protection of life, liberty and property of citizens. The investigation of offences to bring the offender to the book and facilitate the ultimate search for truth is one of the important duties the police has to perform. This is a statutory duty under the Cr.P.C. and is also a constitutional obligation ensuring the maintenance of peace and the upholding of rule of law.
- It is well recognised that the Magistrate concerned is not empowered to interfere with the investigation being carried out up until the submission of the report by the said officer. Needless to state then that the role of the Investigating Officer is essential and crucial. Chapter XII of Cr.P.C. titled as “information to the police and their powers to investigate”, lays down the procedure and course of action to be taken by the police upon receipt of the commission of an offence cognizable in nature. Section 156 lays down the power of investigation; Section 157 the procedure thereof; Section 160 the power to require attendance of a witness, Section 161 conduct examination of such witness, etc. Section 172 requires such police officer to maintain a case diary and Section 173 lays down the format and the procedure for the report to be issued by such officer.
- With reference to case diaries, it has been observed by this Court in Bhagwant Singh v. Commission of Police (1983) 3 SCC 344, a two ¬Judge Bench observed that entries into the police diary shall be with (a) promptness; (b) in sufficient detail; (c) containing all significant facts; (d) in chronological order; and with complete objectivity.
Relevant Para No.
- 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44