The High Court of Karnataka has upheld the State government’s 2021 notification, which has declared the officers of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), Bengaluru, of and above the rank of inspector as the ‘superior officers’ of the station house officers (SHOs) of all the police stations in the city.
In view of their deputation to the CCB, these police officers can exercise all the powers and functions as ‘superior officer’ of a police station and have the power to file the final report or chargesheet under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) in view of Section 36 of Cr.PC, which empowers the police officers superior in rank to an officer in charge of a police station to exercise the same powers, the court said.
Justice K. Natarajan passed the order while dismissing the petitions filed by Ditul Mehta and others. The petitioners had questioned the legality of the February 25, 2021, notification as well as transfer of alleged dowry harassment case against them to the CCB, and the chargesheet filed by the CCB against them.
Rejecting the petitioners’ contention that the State government has no power to issue such a notification without seeking amendment to the Cr.PC on the floor of the Legislature and in the manner known to law, the HC said the government has the power to issue such notification under the Karnataka Police Act to appoint any police officer or establish police station in the local area and appoint police officers for investigating the matters/crimes.
Though the CCB is a police station, its officers are meant and empowered for investigating of the cases referred to them by the city police commissioners in view of the notification, and once they have been appointed or identified as investigating officers, then they can file the final report or chargesheet under Section 173 (2) of Cr.PC, the HC clarified.
The court also rejected the contention that the city commissioner of police does not have power to refer investigation to the CCB in respect of First Information Reports registered at police station in the jurisdiction of the commissionerate of Bengaluru.
