THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of widespread misuse of the Section 156 (3) of the CrPC, which deals with investigation into cases under court directive, the Police Department had decided to be more cautious while dealing with such cases as well as to initiate penal action against those who misuse this provision with the intention of harming another person.
DGP Jacob Punnoose said in a recent circular that there had been several instances of improper investigation into cases registered under Section 156 (3) of CrPC and using the provision to deliberately register case and unnecessarily arrest a person.
The DGP had instructed that cases referred to the police under Section 156 (3) should be investigated by an officer not below the rank of sub-inspector and the arrest of the accused should be made only after due investigation.
The need for the arrest should be clearly mentioned in the case diary and the immediate superior should be informed both in writing and orally in person before making the arrest. “In case where it is evident that the case had been initiated with mala fide intention, and that there is no justifiable cause of action, the station house officer (SHO) may invoke Section 182 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) with the concurrence of the DySP,’’ says the guidelines.
Section 182 of IPC provides for imprisonment up to six months or fine or both to those who provided false information against another person intentionally.
Sources in the Police Department said that there had been several incidents of Section 156 (3) being misused by some persons with the intention of targeting another person and even leading to an arrest.
Such acts are committed even with the connivance of a section in the Police Department.