JURISDICTION OF POLICE STATIONS IN INDIA
In the modern state, Police is a powerful and an indispensable entity. It serves as the foremost line of defence against domestic contingencies and performs the broad function of maintaining law and order. In lieu of its functions, it forms an integral component of the Criminal Justice System.
States are divided into various police districts, the oversight of which is assigned area-wise to police stations. Police Acts enacted by various state governments provide that the State Government may, by notification, establish police stations for every local area. This pre-determined area, in relation to which the Police Station exercises its power, connotes its jurisdiction. Among other things, a police station is empowered to register FIRs, NCRs and conduct an investigation in respect of crimes in its jurisdiction.
The scheme of criminal procedure mandates that a police officer must ideally investigate only those offences which fall within his circle. Consequently, under normal circumstances, they are not empowered to investigate offences committed outside their jurisdiction. As the extent of the police’s powers is determined by jurisdiction, a clear demarcation of the same is vital from the standpoint of complainants. Yet, ironically, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (hereinafter referred to as CrPC) contains no direct provision concerning jurisdiction of police stations and the powers therein. In this regard, other state legislatures gain high significance on basis of which legal sources for a jurisdiction of a police station could be determined.
Although the CrPC does not expressly provide for ‘jurisdiction of a police station’, the whole scheme of criminal procedure makes the requirement of jurisdiction mandatory by necessary implication. At the heart of this scheme lies the officer-in-charge of the police station, commonly known as Station House Officer (SHO). In the absence of anything to the contrary, the jurisdiction of the police station and the SHO are synonymous to each other.
The essence of the CrPC lies in its subtle classification of offences as cognizable and non-cognizable. Whereas an arrest can be made without a warrant in a cognizable case, the same is indispensable in a non-cognizable case. The procedure for these two categories of offences is also different, and it is reflected in the provisions concerning jurisdiction. For non-cognizable offences, the operative provision is Section 155, which provides that the SHO has jurisdiction over such offences that are committed within the limits of the police station. In respect of cognizable offences, Section 156 provides that the SHO has the power to investigate such offences that a Court having jurisdiction over the local area within the limits of such police station would have the power to inquire into or try, under the provisions of Chapter XIII. Chapter XIII, which pertains to Jurisdiction of Criminal Courts in Inquiries and Trials, does not impose any absolute prohibition on trying, inquiring or investigating offences that are committed beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the Court. Even Section 177 merely provides for the ‘ordinary’ place for enquiry and trial of an offence. Thus, it follows that the SHO can effectively investigate offences which were committed outside his ‘normal’ jurisdiction since his jurisdiction to investigate cognizable offences runs parallel to the jurisdiction of a Court within the local limits of the police station. This is substantiated by Section 178, which states that if the offence is committed in more than one place, then, any Court within whose jurisdiction any of the acts took place will have jurisdiction.
Also, in extraordinary circumstances, the mandate of jurisdiction is suitably relaxed. For instance, Section 48 provides that the police officer can pursue into any place in India beyond his jurisdiction, any such person whom he is authorized to arrest without warrant. Further, if the police officer concerned has reason to believe that evidence concerning the commission of offence will be concealed or destroyed, or that the local police station is working in connivance with the accused, then, he can even carry out a search outside the local limits of his jurisdiction. Thus, the classification on the basis of jurisdiction although rigid is not watertight. Any classification must be subservient to the supreme duty of the police, which is, at all times, to maintain law and order, and serve the country.