I

Inquest
Introduction

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is the law that governs the procedural
aspect. It provides a mechanism for all the procedures that have to be followed for
the administration of justice. It is the primary legislation for the administration of
the substantive laws in India, i.e. the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and other criminal
statutes.

The preparation of an inquest report under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is
conducted to create a record of crime as it forms an important basis for
determining the commission of an offence. The process of criminal investigation is
a search for truth. Under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950, the right to
know or the right to have correct knowledge has been included. This includes in its
ambit the right to know the correct cause of the death of any person.

This article explains the provisions of the inquest report along with landmark
judgments.

Inquest report

The term 'inquest' has not been outrightly defined in the Code. The meaning of
inquest is to seek legal or judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts. According to
the Black's Law Dictionary, the term 'inquest' 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. The
provisions relating to the inquest report are covered under Chapter XII of the Code.

An inquest report is made primarily to look into the causes of unnatural death. In
the case of unnatural death, the circumstances have to be examined. The State
owes a duty to its citizens to ensure their health and life. When a crime is
committed, it is committed against the State. In the circumstances of unnatural
death, it is the duty of the State to ascertain the cause of death and accordingly take
further measures. This is the purpose of an inquest report, to establish facts t"hat can
be used to apprehend and punish the offender.
Relevant provisions under the code
. . b owered to enquire and
Under Sect10n 174 of the Code, the police have een emp
report on cases of unnatural death. The first clause to the provision st ates that when
an officer-in-charge of a police station or some police officer who is empowered
by the State Government receives information that:

1. A person has committed suicide;

2. A person has been killed by another;
3. A person has been killed by an animal;
4. A person has been killed by machinery;
5. A person has been killed by an accident;
6. A person has died under such circumstances which raise a reasonable
suspicion that some other person has committed an offence.

In the aforementioned cases, the police officer should immediately notify the
nearest Executive Magistrate who is empowered to hold inquests. Further, he shall
proceed to the place where the body of the deceased person is and in the presence
of two or more respectable residents of the neighbourhood, such police officer
shall make an investigation and prepare a report.

The statements of the witnesses which are to be so recorded during the course of
the investigation are within the inhibition of Section 162 of the Code. The
statement recorded under this section cannot be used as a substantive piece of
evidence. It can be only used to corroborate or contradict the person making it at
the trial. But, there are no restrictions on the powers of the police officers from
obtaining the signatures of the witnesses on their respective statements.

Under Section 174(2) of the Code, the report has to be signed by the investigating
police officer and other persons, including those who concur therein. This report is
then forwarded to·the District Magistrate or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.

Under Section 174(3) of the Code, special circumstances involving the death of a
woman have been laid down. This was added by the Criminal Law (Second
Amendment) Act, 1983.

In the cases where:

 I
I
( 1. Suicide has been committed by a woman within seven years of her
marriage;
2. The death of a woman within seven years of her marriage raises
reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence in
relation to such a woman;
3. The death of a woman within seven years of her ma1Tiage has taken place
and any relative of such a woman has made a request on this behalf;
4. There is a doubt regarding the cause of death;
5. The concerned police officer for any other ancillary reasons considers it
expedient to do so.

In the aforementioned situations, the concerned police officer shall forward the
body to be examined, to the nearest Civil Surgeon or any other qualified medical
personnel appointed for these purposes by the State Government. This discretion
must be exercised in a prudent and careful manner. The forwarding of the body
should only be done if there is no risk of putrefaction on the road, which would
render the examination useless.

Under Section 174(4), the Magistrates have been listed down who are empowered
to conduct inquests.

1. Any District Magistrate;

2. Any Sub-Divisional Magistrate;
3. Any other Executive Magistrate

These Magistrates should be empowered to function in this capacity by, either the
State Government or the District Magistrate.

Under Section 175 of the Code, the police officer who is investigating may, by an
order in writing, summon two or more persons as mentioned above for the purpose
of conducting the said investigation. This shall include any person who appears to
be acquainted with the facts of the case. All such persons who are summoned are
bound to attend and truly answer all questions asked. They can choose not to
answer such questions which would have a tendency to expose them to a criminal
charge or a penalty or forfeiture. Under clause 2 of the provision, it is mentioned
that if the facts do not disclose a cognizable offence to which Section 170 of the
Code applies, then such persons would not be required to attend a Magistrate ' s
Court.
Contents and Particulars of the report

The report that is made by the police under Section 174(1) of the Code is not
exhaustive in nature. It contains in it only the first impression of the dead body.
The police officer conducting the investigation is supposed to prepare the report.

The report must contain the following details:

1. The apparent cause of death .

2. Description of the wounds, fractures, bruises and other marks of injury
found on the dead body.
3. The manner in which such marks appear to have been inflicted.
4. The weapon or instrument (if any) which appears to have been used to
inflict such injuries.

The Madras High Court has held in the case of Manohari & Ors. vs. The Dist.
Superintendent of Police & Ors. (2018) that unnatural deaths which are registered
under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the police cannot
close the case only by submitting a report to the Executive Magistrate. Irrespective
of whether the investigation yields results or not, the police are expected to file a
Final Report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 before
the Jurisdictional Magistrate.

Inquest by Magistrate

Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with an inquiry by the
Magistrate into the cause of death.

This section is read in consonance with Section 174, with special emphasis on
Section 174(3)(i) and Section 174(3)(ii). If the case referred to is of the nature of
these aforementioned clauses or in any other case mentioned in Section 174( 1) of
the Code, then the Magistrate who is empowered to hold an inquiry into the cause
of death shall have all the powers to conduct it, which he would have in holding an
inquiry into the offence. The Magistrate can hold such an inquiry instead of or in
addition to the investigation held by the police officer.
 /
I

r Under l 76(1A), the Judicial Magistrate or the Metropolitan Magistrate within

whose jurisdictional area the offence has been committed are empowered to
conduct the inquiry, in the following cases.

1. Where any person has died or disappeared;

2. When rape is alleged to have been committed on any woman.

This inquiry by the Magistrate is held in addition to the inquiry or investigation

held by the police.

Under Section 176(2) of the Code, the Magistrate who holds such an inquiry is
bound to record the evidence taken by him in connection therewith, according to
the circumstances of the case.

Under Section 176(3) of the Code, in cases where the dead body has already been
interred (placing a corpse in a grave/tomb, with funeral rites), the Magistrate to
discover the cause of the death can order for the body to be disinterred and
examined.

Under Section 176(4) of the Code, the Magistrate who holds an inquiry under this
section should, wherever practicable, inform the relatives of the deceased person
(whose names and addresses are known) and is bound to allow them to remain
present at the inquiry. According to the explanation of this section, relatives
'mean' parents, children, brothers, sisters and spouse.

Under Section 176(5) of the Code, the Magistrate (Judicial or Metropolitan or

Executive) or the police officer who is conducting the inquiry or investigation,
under 176(1A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are · bound to send the
body of the deceased for examination to the nearest civil surgeon or any other
qualified medical person appointed by the State Government. If it is not possible
for them to do, then the reasons for not being able to do are to be recorded in
writing.

The proceedings under this section are judicial proceedings and the High Court can
exercise its jurisdiction over it by the virtue of Section 397 and Section 401 or
under Section 482 of the Code.
Scope of an inquest report

The scope of an inquest report has been discussed in several case laws. Some of
the landmark judgments are mentioned below:

In the case of Tehseen Poonawalla vs. Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court
has discussed the scope of Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

In Pedda Narayana vs. State of Andhra Pradesh (19 75), the Apex Court held that
the scope of an inquiry under Section 174 of the CrPC is limited in nature. It is
only to ascertain whether a person has died under suspicious circumstances or
unnatural death and the apparent cause -of death. This above principle was
reiterated in Amar Singh vs. Ba/winder Singh (2003), wherein the Court observed
that the section does not contemplate that the manner in which the incident took
place or the names of the acc~sed should be mentioned in the inq1:1est report.

The basic purpose of holding an inquest is to determine the apparent cause of

death. This view has been upheld in a catena of cases such as Khujj i @ Surendra
Tiwari vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (1991), Radha Mohan Singh Alias Lal Saheb
vs. State of UP (2006).

In Mano} Kumar Sharma vs. State of Chattisgarh (2016), a two-judge bench has
held that the purpose of an 'inquest' in cases of accidental or suspicious deaths
under Section 174 and Section 175 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is
. . I

different from the 'investigation' under Section 157 of the Code. This was re-
iterated in Bimla Devi vs. Rajesh Singh (2016), wherein it was held that the section
aims at preserving the first look at the body recovered and it does not need to
contain every minute detail.

In Madhu Alias Madhuranatha vs. State of Karnataka (2014), a two-judge bench ·

of the Apex Court has observed that an inquest report is not substantive evidence.
· The Supreme Court held in Yogesh Singh vs. Mahabeer Singh (2017) that the
inquest report can only be looked into for testing the veracity of the witnesses of
the inquest.
 /
/

/
( Conclusion

The scope of an inquest report is extremely limited in its orientation. A recent

discussion on this topic is to include the cases of 'missing persons' in this
provision. The provisions lay down only the preliminary investigation or the 'first
impression' of the body. The question related to the details as to how the deceased
was assaulted or who was the accused or under what circumstances he was
assaulted are topics which fall outside the scope of Section 174 of the Code. The
provision is primarily restricted to deal with unnatural deaths and dowry deaths. In
the latter cases, it enlists the special performance that has to be followed by the
police personnel.