Despite reservations being expressed by the law department, the Delhi Government is to table Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973 Amendment Bill in the ongoing Winter Session on Monday aimed at making provisions in the Act to widen the scope of magisterial enquiry.
The Delhi Government’s law department strongly opined that since the CrPC is a law made by Parliament, the proposed amended law if made by the Delhi Assembly would be repugnant to the existing provisions of the CrPC.
Therefore in view of first proviso to article 239AA (3) (C), the amendments by the legislative Assembly shall require approval of the President of India. Further, the law department said as required under rule 55 of the Transaction of Business Rule of the GNCTD Rules 1993 any legislative proposal required to be reserved for consideration of President and assent of the President is required to be referred to the Central Government before introduction in the legislative Assembly of Delhi.
Interestingly, the Bill has become a bone of contention between the law department and the AAP Government.
The section 176 of CrPC said, “When any person dies while in the custody of the police or when the case is of the nature referred to in clause (i) or clause (ii) of sub- section (3) of section 174] the nearest Magistrate — empowered to hold inquests shall, and in any other case mentioned in sub- section (1) of section 174, any Magistrate so empowered may hold an enquiry into the cause of death either instead of, or in addition to, the investigation held by the police officer; and if he does so, he shall have all the powers in conducting it which he would have in holding an inquiry into an offence) to order magisterial inquiry in police related matters).”
On the other hand, the Government felt that it does not want to limit the scope of the magisterial enquiry only to custodial death, homicide, suicide of a woman or death of a woman but to any other act which the State Government thinks fit for a magisterial enquiry.
“This Government wants to widen its scope to cover any other cases of suspicious disappearance, rapes in police custody and suspicious death,” the Bill said.
“In cases of suicides/deaths of woman within seven years of marriage and in any other case mentioned in 176 (1), the concerned magistrate may in addition to or in lien of police investigation himself /herself investigate the death. In addition to police investigation as mentioned above, in cases of suspicious deaths, disappearances, alleged rapes in police custody, magisterial and unauthorised court custody, such case cases will also be inquired by judicial magistrate or metropolitan magistrate having jurisdiction in the area,” it said.