Why in News?
- The Supreme Court said that the chargesheet filed by investigating agencies in a criminal case in court is not a public document which could be directed to be put in public domain by uploading it on a website and also it cannot be revealed under Right to Information Act.
What is a Chargesheet?
- According to Section 173 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a charge sheet is a report generated by police officers after investigating a case.
- It contains all the stringent records right from the commencement of investigation procedure of lodging an FIR to till the completion of investigation and preparation of final report.
- It contains the names of the people brought in the custody, the charges they are brought in for and the identity of the accusers.
- Once the charge sheet has been submitted to a court of law, prosecution proceedings against the accused begin.
- Time limit for filing a Charge Sheet:
- It is to be filed within 60 days from the date of arrest of the accused in cases triable by lower courts and 90 days in cases triable by Court of Sessions.
- If the charge sheet is not filed within the prescribed time mentioned above, the accused has a right to default bail.
- A charge sheet is distinct from the First Information Report (FIR).
What is the First Information Report (FIR)?
- It is a written document prepared by a Police officer based on information given by an aggrieved person or any other person either in writing or made orally about the commission of a Cognizable Offence.
- Investigation is started only after filing of the FIR.
- Who can file an FIR? Anyone can file a FIR, whether it is the victim, victim’s family or friends, or any witness to a crime.
- An FIR can only be lodged in case of cognizable offences.
What is a Cognizable Offence?
- It is one in which the police may arrest a person without warrant.
- The police are authorized to start investigation into a cognizable case on their own and do not require any orders from the court to do so.
