Chapter XII
Section 174 CrPC: Police to inquire and report on suicide, etc.
New Law Update (2024)
Section 175 BNSS
TRIAL COURT
Punishment
Procedural – Investigation / Inquiry
Cognizable?
Bailable?
Compoundable?
Bare Act Text
(1) When the officer in charge of a police station or some other police officer specially empowered by the State Government in that behalf receives information that a person has committed suicide, or has been killed by another or by an animal or by machinery or by an accident, or has died under circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence, he shall immediately give intimation thereof to the nearest Executive Magistrate empowered to hold inquests, and, unless otherwise directed by any rule prescribed by the State Government, or by any general or special order of the District or Sub-divisional Magistrate, shall proceed to the place where the body of such deceased person is, and there, in the presence of two or more respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood shall make an investigation, and draw up a report of the apparent cause of death, describing such wounds, fractures, bruises, and other marks of injury as may be found on the body, and stating in what manner, or by what weapon or instrument (if any); such marks appear to have been inflicted.
(2) The report shall be signed by such police officer and other persons, or by so many of them as concur therein, and shall be forthwith forwarded to the District Magistrate or the Sub-divisional Magistrate.
(3) When—
(i) the case involves suicide by a woman within seven years of her marriage; or
(ii) the case relates to the death of a woman within seven years of her marriage in any circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion that some other person committed an offence in relation to such woman; or
(iii) the case relates to the death of a woman within seven years of her marriage and any relative of the woman has made a request in this behalf; or
(iv) there is any doubt regarding the cause of death; or
(v) the police officer for any other reason considers it expedient so to do,
he shall, subject to such rules as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf, forward the body, with a view to its being examined, to the nearest Civil Surgeon, or other qualified medical man appointed in this behalf by the State Government, if the state of the weather and the distance admit of its being so forwarded without risk of such putrefaction on the road as would render such examination useless.
(4) The following Magistrates are empowered to hold inquests, namely, any District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Magistrate and any other Executive Magistrate specially empowered in this behalf by the State Government or the District Magistrate.
Important Sub-Sections Explained
Section 174(1)
This sub-section outlines the initial and immediate duty of a police officer upon receiving information about an unnatural or suspicious death. It mandates an on-site investigation, the drawing up of a report detailing injuries and apparent cause of death, and intimation to an Executive Magistrate.
Section 174(3)
This crucial sub-section specifies circumstances under which the body of a deceased person *must* be forwarded for a medical examination (post-mortem). This includes deaths of women within seven years of marriage under suspicious conditions or suicide, requests from relatives in such cases, or when there is any doubt regarding the cause of death.
Landmark Judgements
Md. Mustak v. The State of Bihar, (2020) 7 SCC 726:
The Supreme Court underscored the critical importance of a proper and timely inquest under Section 174 CrPC, especially in cases of custodial deaths or deaths occurring under suspicious circumstances, to accurately determine the cause of death and rule out any foul play.
Amar Singh v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1987 SC 1421:
The Supreme Court clarified that an inquest report prepared under Section 174 CrPC is not substantive evidence. Its evidentiary value is limited to contradicting or corroborating the statements of witnesses.
Rajkumar and Ors. v. State of U.P. and Ors., (2019) 12 SCC 526:
This ruling reiterated that the primary objective of an inquest proceeding under Section 174 CrPC is to ascertain the apparent cause of death and the surrounding circumstances, rather than to establish the culpability of any individual.