Observing that the court cannot reframe a legislation by adding words to the statute, the High Court of Karnataka has declined to issue direction to the judicial magistrates to affix their signature on every page of the case dairy maintained by the investigation officers in all types of criminal cases.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while rejecting a petition filed by Mohammed Shiyab, accused number-8 in BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru’s murder case.
It was contended on behalf of the petitioner that investigating officers can tamper with the case diary when it is not signed by the magistrate at every stage when the diary is produced before the court as per the law. It was also contended on behalf of the petitioner that procedure of affixing signature of the magistrate on the case diary exists in some of the States.
Acceding to petitioner’s plea would run foul to the principles laid down by the apex court, which had made it clear in several judgements that “it is not the duty of the court either to enlarge the scope of legislation or the intention of the legislature when the language of the provision is plain and unambiguous.... and the court cannot rewrite, recast or reframe the legislation for the good reason that it has no power to legislate.”
The High Court made it clear that the Criminal Rules of Practice notified by the State of Karnataka in the year 1968 has no provision for the magistrate to sign the case diary. “If a statute prescribes an action to be taken in a particular manner as provided under the statute, it must be taken in the said manner and no other manner,” the High Court said citing apex court’s judgment.
The plea that the petitioner has generated a rational apprehension that the investigating officer would not be fair, if accepted, would run counter to the judgements of the apex court, which had held that “abuse of power cannot be presumed and it is not judicial approach to distrust and suspect the police officer without good grounds.”
Merely because the petitioner had suffered the order of remand or denial of bail at the hands of the concerned magistrate, before whom the case diary was produced by the investigation officer, would not mean that he would suffer prejudice if the magistrate would not sign the case diary on every occasion, the High Court said.
