AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
Wallace, J.—The investigation u/s 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is made by the police officer, and the statements are, therefore, statements made to a police officer "in the course of an investigation under the chapter" u/s 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The fact that the inquest is held in the presence of two or more respectable inhabitants does not render the statements taken there any the less statements made to a police officer. Such statements are therefore not public documents of which accused is entitled to a copy and the procedure which governs the grant of copies of statements u/s 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure governs also the grant of copies of statements made at the inquest.
The latest ruling of this Court on this subject is reported in Peramasami Rayudu, In re (1925) 22 LW 784.
As to the post-mortem certificate, I can see no objection to the grant of a copy of that and in practice I think that when the medical officer is not examined at the beginning of the enquiry, a copy of the post-mortem), certificate ought to be given to the accused for the purpose of enabling him to conduct his defence. The same remark will apply to the inquest report (excluding statements therein) when the investigating police officer is not examined at the beginning of the enquiry.
With these remarks the petition is dismissed.