24. Procedure when an allegation is made against a police officer in a complaint or first information.
(a)When an allegation of misconduct is made against a police officer-(i)in a complaint before a Magistrate, or(ii)in an information lodged with a police officer and forwarded by him to the District or Sub-divisional Magistrate under regulation 244 (c),the Magistrate concerned should decide whether there will be an inquiry under the appropriate section (159 or 202) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.(b)If he decides that an inquiry is necessary, he should direct it to be made by a Magistrate or by a Police Officer.(c)If the alleged occurrence appears to be obviously trivial though cognizable, it should be sufficient to order a local investigation by a police officer of superior rank. The Superintendent should be asked to arrange for such investigation to be held at once.(d)If there is no apparent reason to doubt the truth of the complaint and no preliminary inquiry is thought necessary, the Magistrate should fix the earliest possible date for the trial.
