Inquest Report under Section CrPC
By Shreya Verma
Meaning: Inquest, as per Black’s Law Dictionary means, “an inquiry conducted by the medical officers or sometimes with the help of a jury into the manner of death of a person, who has died under suspicious circumstances or has died in prison.” Inquest is a judicial enquiry held to determine circumstances surrounding death and inquest report is a report which determines the apparent (as actual cause is determined after post mortem) cause of death. Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with inquest report, which empowers a Police officer to enquire and report on cases of unnatural death. Unnatural death as defined under section 174 includes the cases when:
A person has committed suicide;
A person has been killed by another;
A person has been killed by an animal;
A person has been killed by machinery;
A person has been killed by an accident;
A person has died under such circumstances which raise a reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence.
When an Assistant police officer receives an information as to unnatural death of a human being he will inform the nearest Executive Magistrate, who is empowered to hold inquests. In addition to that, police officer, if not prohibited, shall himself proceed to the spot and prepare an inquest report. Inquest must be conducted in presence of at least two respectable residents of the neighbourhood.
The Supreme Court in: Radha Mohan Singh Alias Lal Saheb vs. State of UP (2006) held that the basic purpose of holding an inquest is to determine the apparent cause of death.
What is written in inquest report?
Nature of enquiry: The apparent cause of death, description of the wounds, fractures, bruises and other marks of injury found on the dead body.
Nature of weapon: The manner in which such marks appear to have been inflicted, The weapon or instrument (if any) which appears to have been used to inflict such injuries.
Precautions to be taken by the Police officer while preparing the increased report:
To seal/ restrict the whole area where the investigation is about to happen;
he should carry his toolkit for collecting evidence;
he will make a sketch of dead body; apparels and jewelleries from dead body are seized;
blood samples are collected, fingerprint, footprints, etc are taken;
to click photograph of the scene of crime in situ.
Who can prepare an inquest report?
Both Police officer and Executive Magistrate have concurrent powers. However, generally executive magistrate will make report.
When can a Judicial Magistrate conduct an inquest proceeding?
Where any person has died or disappeared;
In case of custodial death;
custodial disappearance;
custodial rape
in the above cases, the Judicial Magistrate is bound to conduct inquest proceeding in addition to the executive magistrate.
The person present at the spot will be made to sign the report and a copy of such report will be forwarded to District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate.
In cases of unnatural death of women when:
She died within 7 years of marriage;
committed suicide within 7 years of marriage;
there is a complaint by a relative; and
when there is a doubt as to cause of death of a person.
In such cases, Police officer must forward the body to nearest Hospital to be medically examined by civil surgeon at Government Hospital or by any qualified medical practitioner.
In cases when the body has been already burried then it can be disinterred for medical examination by executive magistrate or judicial magistrate.
Evidentiary value of inquest report:
Though, not a substantive piece of evidence as was held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in 2014 in the case of Madhuranatha vs. State of Karnataka (2014), neither can it be used for corroboration of a prosecution or defence witness nor it can be used for contradicting a defence or a court witness as was held by the supreme court and Mamta vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2015) but it can be very well used in testing the veracity of the witness.
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