The Chief Justice Shri Chandrashekhar has made the legal position clear. The contents of a pen drive and other subsequent material cannot be investigated under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. That provision is confined only to noting what is seen at the spot and nothing beyond it. The Chief Justice further made it clear that such an exercise can be completed within a few hours and, at the highest, within 24 hours.
It is therefore shocking that the Mumbai Police has continued to delay the registration of FIR under the guise of pendency of an enquiry under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. for the last 5 years and 6 months.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has already settled the law that where allegations of murder or other cognizable offences arise, the police are bound to register an FIR and they cannot refuse to register an FIR on the basis of the material emerging from the proceedings under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. [Amit Kumar v. Union of India, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 631, Sindhu Janak Nagargoje v. State of Maharashtra, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1833].
Shri Satish Salian, father of late Disha Salian, has instituted a Writ Petition seeking a direction for registration of FIR against Aditya Thackeray and others for serious cognizable offences, including gangrape and murder. Despite the grave nature of the allegations raised in the petition, the police have continued to avoid and delay the registration of FIR by repeatedly taking shelter under the report prepared under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. and by advancing one excuse after another to stall the matter and prevent final adjudication in accordance with law.
The stand taken by the police has been that they are still acting on the basis of the proceedings under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. and are continuing some form of enquiry on that basis. However, such a position is wholly untenable in law, particularly when the allegations disclosed are of serious cognizable offences. Proceedings under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. are limited in scope and are meant only for recording the apparent circumstances seen at the spot in cases of unnatural death. The said provision cannot be used as a shield to indefinitely postpone the mandatory duty of registering FIR when material disclosing cognizable offences is placed before the authorities.
Today, the matter was listed before the Bench of Hon’ble the Chief Justice Shri Chandrashekhar and Hon’ble Justice Shri Suman Shyam.
When the matter was taken up, the Hon’ble Chief Justice put a pointed question to the State as to whether any FIR had been registered in the case.
In response, the learned Public Prosecutor attempted to justify the police action by submitting that the SIT was conducting an enquiry under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. He further submitted that, since Shri Satish Salian had handed over a pen drive about two months ago, the authorities were examining the material contained therein.
Today, during the hearing of the matter, the State’s delay tactics were exposed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice. The Bench clearly questioned the police as to why FIR had still not been registered. When the prosecution attempted to justify the delay by relying upon Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. and the so-called ongoing examination of materials, the Hon’ble Chief Justice firmly indicated that such a course of action cannot be stretched beyond its limited statutory purpose. The Court made it apparent that Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. does not permit a wide-ranging investigation into fresh material, nor can it be converted into an endless exercise for avoiding registration of FIR.
Thus, the proceedings today assume great significance. The Hon’ble Chief Justice effectively dismantled the State’s attempt to continue hiding behind Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. and exposed the illegality of the police approach. The hearing has brought the matter to a crucial stage, where the police now find themselves under direct judicial scrutiny for having failed to discharge their statutory duty despite the lapse of substantial time and despite the seriousness of the allegations levelled in the Writ Petition.
At this stage, the Hon’ble Chief Justice expressed clear disapproval of the said stand.
