i) Cancellation report of a criminal case should be sent through the concerned Superintendent of Police. It is the Superintendent of Police who is solely authorized to send the cancellation report of a criminal case to the Magistrate concerned.
ii) Where a law requires doing of something in a particular manner it has to be done in the same manner and not otherwise.
A minute review of Cr.P.C. reveals that it does not contain any specific provision in it, under which the question of cancellation of a registered criminal case can be dealt with. However, the wording of Section 173(3) Cr.P.C. clearly indicates that it provides inherent power to a Magistrate of the first class to cancel a criminal case.
Rule 24.7 of the Police Rules, 1934 (hereinafter ‘the Rules’) prescribes a self-explanatory procedure for submitting a cancellation report of a criminal case. It is specified that if after collecting information and evidence the Investigating Officer is of the opinion that the report is maliciously false or false owing to a mistake of law or fact or to be noncognizable or matter for a civil suit, the Superintendent shall send the first information report and any other papers on record in the case with the final report to a Magistrate having jurisdiction. After considering those documents, the Magistrate will pass the final order.
This Rule provides not only the mode of submission of the cancellation report of a criminal case but also the grounds on which such a report should be prepared by the investigating officer.
The words used in Rule 24.7 ‘Superintendent shall send’ clearly indicate that it is mandatory and requires due compliance. Consequently, it becomes abundantly clear that no subjective, as well as objective, discretion has been left with the investigating agency to deviate from the above-referred Rule and submit the cancellation report of a criminal case through SHO or even DSP/SDPO. Rules have a force of law and have not been replaced despite the enforcement of Police Order, 2002 (hereinafter ‘the Order’). Cancellation of an F.I.R. is not provided in the Cr.P.C. but it has been provided in Rule 24.7 of the Rules. 5Chapter 11, Part D, Vol. III of The Rules and Orders of The Lahore High Court, Lahore, also provides guidelines to the Magistrates dealing with the cancellation reports and adherence to Rule 24.7 of the Rules has also been provided therein. It shall not be out of place to clarify that the preparation of a cancellation report after a thorough investigation of a criminal case is altogether different from the case in which investigation can be dispensed with or where investigating officer sees no sufficient ground for investigation as envisaged under proviso (a) & (b) to Section 157(1) Cr.P.C. In the present case, cancellation report was prepared under Section 173 read with Section 169 of the Cr.P.C. after a thorough investigation. 8. The rationale underlying the aforementioned Rule is that a cancellation report in a criminal case should be filed through the senior supervisory officer to preclude the possibility of malpractice and arbitrariness on the part of the investigating officer. This precautionary measure has been provided in the Rules to ensure fairness and impartiality in the investigation process because if a cancellation report of a criminal case is agreed with by the concerned Magistrate, it amounts to the termination of that criminal case. Unlike any other report under Section 173 Cr.P.C., a cancellation report shall be sent through the concerned Superintendent of Police for the safe administration of the Criminal Justice System. To send the cancellation report under Section 173 Cr.P.C., through the Superintendent of Police concerned, is neither a formality nor that office is merely a post office, instead he must forward that cancellation report after applying his independent mind, otherwise, the very purpose of Rule 24.7 of the Rules shall be defeated.
Police Order provides a complete structure, guidelines and a detailed mechanism for the effective and smooth functioning of the police department. In the year 2013, Police Order (Amendment) Act, 2013, was introduced and that amendment has some relevance to the proposition at hand.
A bare perusal of the aforementioned provision of law reveals that a “Supervisory Officer” has been introduced in the new system of investigation for timely “completion” & “verification” of investigations. The said officer i.e., Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) may call upon investigating officer to review the case and if it is deemed appropriate, he can write a police diary in that regard. This enhanced level of supervision is bestowed upon DSP as a check on the investigating officers to improve the quality of investigations as well as to clog up aberrant investigations. On the other hand, by virtue of Rule 24.7 of the Rules, which in unequivocal terms exclusively deals with the subject of cancellation report, it is the Superintendent of Police who is solely authorized to send the cancellation report of a criminal case to the Magistrate concerned. The use of the word ‘may’ in Article 18(10) of the Order and the word ‘shall’ in Rule 24.7 of the Rules clearly reflects the legislature’s intent and the mandatory nature of the Rule.
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