Question: On the basis of my complaint, the Magistrate has directed the police to investigate a case under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. Initially, the police investigated it for about 15 days, but the investigating officer is now openly siding with the accused person and is saying that he would be closing the investigation and sending a closure report. It is clear that the I.O. is favouring the accused person for some obvious reasons. What can I do in these circumstances?
Answer: Firstly, you can try to request the senior police officers (such as SP of the district) to ensure proper investigation in the case. If needed, you can request the senior officers to transfer the investigation of the case to some other investigating officer.
Secondly, in the worst scenario for you, even if the investigation is closed by the police and a closure report is filed by the police in the court of the Magistrate, you will get an intimation from the Magistrate about such closure report, filed under Section 173 of the Cr.P.C.
If you are not convinced with the closure of the investigation by the police, on such intimation, you can file a protest petition with the court. After considering your protest petition, the court has the power to direct (1) further investigation by police, or (2) accept the closure report and close the case, or (3) reject the closure report filed by police and take cognizance of the offence, or (4) treat your protest petition as a private complaint and take cognizance of the same.
