54. Supervision of criminal investigations. [§ 12, Act V, 1861].
(a)An officer supervising the investigation of a criminal case should satisfy himself that -(i)the investigation is being pushed through without delay ;(ii)the investigation is thorough, i.e., that clues are not overlooked or important lines of enquiry neglected;(iii)investigating officers do not work mainly for confessions or rely too much on any that are made, and that they use no sort of pressure and offer no sort of inducement to obtain confessions ;(iv)the subordinate police are working honestly;(v)the public are properly treated ; and(vi)the prescribed procedure is followed.(b)He shall on no account put pressure on investigating officers by injunctions to detect particular case or cases generally.(c)The methods to be adopted by supervising officers are-(i)visits to the place of occurrence at various stages of the investigation and personal examination, if necessary, of witnesses ;(ii)careful scrutiny of case diaries and other papers connected with the investigation; and(iii)examination of crime registers and other records at the police-stations.(d)When a supervising officer discovers mistakes or omissions on the part of an investigating officer, he should point them out to him and should not call for a written explanation unless it appears likely to be necessary to inflict punishment.(e)A Superintendent, an Assistant or a Deputy Superintendent, and (for his own circle only) a Circle Inspector have power to order an officer attached to any police-station to investigate a case that, under section 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, should be investigated by the officer-in-charge. of another police-station; but the power should be exercised sparingly and its exercise by an officer subordinate to a Superintendent should at once be reported to the Superintendent.
