State Of A.P vs Viswanadula Chetti Babu

Rule 7 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, framed under the Andhra

Pradesh Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 1989 reads as under:

"7. Investigating Officer (1) An offence committed under the Act

shall be investigated by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy

Superintendent of Police. The investigating officer shall be appointed

by the State Government/Director General of Police/Superintendent

of Police after taking into account past experience, sense of ability

and justice to perceive the implications of the case and investigate it

alongwith right lines within the shortest possible time.

(2) The investigating officer so appointed under sub-rule(1) shall

complete the investigation on top priority basis within thirty days and

submit the report to the Superintendent of Police who in turn will

immediately forward the report to the Director General of Police of the

State Government.

(3) The Home Secretary and the Social Welfare Secretary to the

State Government, Director of Prosecution, the officer-in-charge of

Prosecution and the Director General of Police shall review by the

end of every quarter the position of all investigations done by the

investigating officer."

A bare perusal of the Rule would reveal that the State

Government/the Director General of Police/ Superintendent of Police

after taking into account the experience etc. of a Deputy

Superintendent of Police shall appoint him as the Investigating

Officer in cases under the above Act. Sub-rule (3) further provides

that the Home Secretary and the Social Welfare Secretary to the

Government and other officers in charge shall review the working of

the Deputy Superintendent of Police and the investigations done by

him at the end of every quarter. It is therefore apparent that authority

to investigate has to be conferred on a specified officer not below the

rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

We are, therefore, of the opinion that in view of the clear

mandate of the Rules, it was only a specified Deputy Superintendent

of Police who could investigate an offence under the Act. An

investigation done by any officer below that rank and not specified as

per Rule 7 would not be entitled to investigate any such offence. In

the present matter the investigation has been made by an officer of

the rank of an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police. This was not

permissible. We endorse the judgment of the High Court in this

respect.

The appeals stand dismissed.