Andhra High Court
S. Masthan Saheb And Anr. Etc. vs P.S.R. Anjaneyulu And Ors. Etc. on 1 July, 2002
Equivalent citations: 2002 (2) ALD Cri 706, 2003 CriLJ 248ORDER V.V.S. Rao, J
some paras of the Judgment
8. A short question that requires consideration is whether the police are entitled to "look into" any
complaint made by any citizen against a citizen or citizens in relation to a civil dispute on the
premise that there is likelihood of further clashes, which may result in law and other problem.
9. Chapter XI of Cr. P.C. contains provisions dealing with preventive action of the police. Section 149
lays down that every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall, prevent
the commission of any cognizable offence. Section 150 requires every police officer as in duty bound
to inform about any information regarding a design to commit cognizable offence to the officer to
whom he is subordinate and under Section 151, may even arrest, without orders from a Magistrate
and without warrant, a person so designing to commit a cognizable offence. Further, under
Sub-section (2), a person who is arrested in relation to a situation under Sub-section (1) of Section
151 shall not be detained exceeding 24 hours from the time of his arrest unless the detention of suc
person is required or authorised under any other provisions of this Code.
10. In this context, reference may also be made to the relevant provisions in Hyderabad City Police
Act, 1348 Fasli (for short "the Hyderabad Act"), Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) District Police Act,
1859 ("the Andhra Act" for brevity) and the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) District Police Act,
1329 Fasli ("the Telangana Act").
11. All powers not inconsistent with the provisions of the Andhra Act, which up to the passing of the
said Act belonged by law to the existing police authorities shall be vested in the police authorities
under the Andhra Act. That is the purport of Section 6 of the said Act. Further Section 21 thereof
lays down the duties of police officers, which reads as under :
"21. Duties of Police Officers :-- Every Police Officer shall, for all purposes in this Act contained, be
considered to be always on duty and shall have the powers of a Police Officer in every part of the
General Police District. It shall be his duty to use his best endeavours and ability to prevent all
crimes, offences and public nuisances, to preserve the peace: to apprehend disorderly and
suspicious characters; to detect and bring offenders to justice, to collect and communicate
intelligence affecting the public peace; and promptly to obey and execute all orders and warrants
lawfully issued to him."
12. Similar provisions were made in the Telangana Act also by reason of Section 19 of the said Act.
But, Section 16 of the Telangana Act postulates that police officers enrolled under the Telangana Act
shall not have any other power except powers conferred by the Telangana Act or the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1898.
13. Hyderabad City Police Act is a consolidating law relating to Hyderabad City made with an
objective of providing effective means for prevention and detection of crimes, maintenance of peace
and investigation into crimes. Section 29 enumerates the duties of police officers. Clause (b) of
Section 29 requires every police officer to obtain intelligence concerning the commission of
cognizable offences or design to commit such offences and bring such information to the notice of
superior officers and to take such action consistent with law and with orders of his superior. This
provision is in pari materia with Section 151, Cr. P.C. It is not necessary to refer to various other
duties under the Hyderabad Act. but it is suffice to notice that all the duties are meant to maintain
peace and public order and prevent commission of offences.
14. The various provisions to which a brief reference is made would show that the power of the
police to collect intelligence regarding any design to commit cognizable offences and prevent
commission of cognizable offences is considered to be the inherent power of the police organization.
Whether or not there is a special enactment, the police are expected to perform its functions;
namely, maintenance of peace and public order and prevention of cognizable offences. When all
these statutes dealing with police in Andhra Pradesh deal with duty of the police relating to
cognizable offences, a Police Officer would not be justified in saying that he/she is looking into a
complaint made by a person which has, ex facie, trappings of the civil dispute. Indeed, under
sub-section (1) of Section 154 of Cr. P.C., it shall be within the power and duty of the police officer toregister only a cognizable offence. Though under Section 155 of Cr. P.C. a police officer can make an
entry in the appropriate register about the information as to non-cognizable offence, such police
officer shall not investigate a non-cognizable offence without the order of the Magistrate. As a
necessary corollary, it must be concluded that any effort on the part of the police 'to look into' any
complaint by any person which does not contain allegations of commission of cognizable offences
would not only violate the various provisions of the Andhra Act, as in this case, but also would
violate Section 155(2) of the Cr. P.C. Any such action would be ex facie illegal, whatever be the ipse
dixit of the police. There is no presumption in law that every rift in human relations would lead to a
civil dispute and civil dispute would likely to result in clashes, resulting in offences against human
body. Any such effort on the part of the police to look into the complaints regarding civil disputes is
not even the part of the Code of Conduct of the Police, which was communicated by the Government
of India in 1987 which reads as under :
Code of Conduct for the Police in India
1. The Police must bear faithful allegiance to the Constitution of India and respect and uphold the
rights of the citizens as guaranteed by it.
2. The Police should not question the propriety or necessity of any law duly enacted. They should
enforce the law firmly and impartially, without fear or favour, malice or vindictiveness.
3. The Police should recognize and respect the limitations of their powers and functions. They
should not usurp or even seem to usurp the functions of the judiciary and sit in judgment on cases to
avenge individuals and punish the guilty
4. In securing the observance of law or in maintaining order, the Police should as far as practicable,
use the methods of persuasion, advice and warning. When the application of force becomes
inevitable, only the irreducible minimum of force required in the circumstances should be used.
5. The prime duty of the Police is to prevent crime and disorder and the Police must recognize that
the test of their efficiency is the absence of both and not the visible evidence of Police action in
dealing with them.
6. The Police must recognize that they are members of the public, with the only difference that in the
interest of the society and on its behalf they are employed to give full time attention to duties, which
are normally incumbent on every citizen to perform.
7. The Police should realize that the efficient performance of their duties will be dependent on the
extent of real co-operation that they receive from the public. This, in turn, will depend on their
ability to secure public approval of their conduct and actions and to earn and retain public respect
and confidence.
8. The Police should always keep the welfare of the people in mind and be sympathetic and
considerate towards them. They should always be ready to offer individual service and friendship
and render necessary assistance to all without regard to their wealth or social standing.
9. The Police should always place duty before self, should remain calm in the face of danger, scorn or
ridicule and should be ready to sacrifice their lives in protecting those of others.
10. The Police should always be courteous and well mannered; they should be dependable and
impartial; they should possess dignity and courage; and should cultivate character and the trust of
the people.
11. Integrity of the highest order is the fundamental basis of the prestige of the Police Recognizing
this, the Police must keep their private lives scrupulously clean, develop self-restraint and be
truthful and honest in thought and deed, in both personal and official life, so that the public may
regard them as exemplary citizen.
12. The Police should recognize that their full utility to the State is the best ensured only by
maintaining a high standard of discipline, faithful performance of duties in accordance with law and
implicit obedience to the lawful directions of commanding ranks and absolute loyalty to the force
and by keeping themselves in a state of constant training and preparedness
13. As members of a secular, democratic State, the Police should strive continually to rise above
personal prejudices and promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the
people in India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to
renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women and disadvantaged segments of the society."
15. The Superintendent of Police, in the counter-affidavit in W.P. No. 19056 of 2001, avers that as
and when persons approach the police seeking redressal, police are acting upon it so as to avoid
further clashes and to prevent law and order problem only, cannot be justified under any principle
of law. The statement of the Superintendent of Police that whenever people approach the police with
civil disputes, the people are being advised to approach the Civil Courts, is well within law and the
same is recorded. It is observed that the Superintendent of Police may communicate a copy of this
order to all the subordinate officials in his jurisdiction with a direction to keep in mind the
provisions of Section 155, Cr. P.C. as well as Section, 21 of the Andhra Area Police Act, 1859.
16. In coming to the allegations and counter allegations in this case, no reply affidavit is filed in any
of the writ petitions traversing the counter allegations. It is well settled that when affidavit
averments are not specifically denied, the law presumes that they have been admitted. (See C. S.
Rowji v. State of A. P., , Bharat Singh v. State of Haryana, and Naseem Bano v. State of U. P., .
Having regard to the pleadings, no finding can be recorded as the petition allegations are made on
oath and counter allegations are made equally on oath. If any of the petitioners are still aggrieved
against any alleged high-handedness of either Sub-Inspector of Police or Inspector of Police, it is
open to them to approach the Superintendent of Police by lodging a complaint. As and when such
complaint is made, the Superintendent of Police shall take necessary action after conducting enquiry
against the concerned Police Inspector/Sub-Inspector, against whom complaint is made
S. Masthan Saheb And Anr. Etc. vs P.S.R. Anjaneyulu And Ors. Etc. on 1 July, 2002
Equivalent citations: 2002 (2) ALD Cri 706, 2003 CriLJ 248ORDER V.V.S. Rao, J
some paras of the Judgment
8. A short question that requires consideration is whether the police are entitled to "look into" any
complaint made by any citizen against a citizen or citizens in relation to a civil dispute on the
premise that there is likelihood of further clashes, which may result in law and other problem.
9. Chapter XI of Cr. P.C. contains provisions dealing with preventive action of the police. Section 149
lays down that every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall, prevent
the commission of any cognizable offence. Section 150 requires every police officer as in duty bound
to inform about any information regarding a design to commit cognizable offence to the officer to
whom he is subordinate and under Section 151, may even arrest, without orders from a Magistrate
and without warrant, a person so designing to commit a cognizable offence. Further, under
Sub-section (2), a person who is arrested in relation to a situation under Sub-section (1) of Section
151 shall not be detained exceeding 24 hours from the time of his arrest unless the detention of suc
person is required or authorised under any other provisions of this Code.
10. In this context, reference may also be made to the relevant provisions in Hyderabad City Police
Act, 1348 Fasli (for short "the Hyderabad Act"), Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) District Police Act,
1859 ("the Andhra Act" for brevity) and the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) District Police Act,
1329 Fasli ("the Telangana Act").
11. All powers not inconsistent with the provisions of the Andhra Act, which up to the passing of the
said Act belonged by law to the existing police authorities shall be vested in the police authorities
under the Andhra Act. That is the purport of Section 6 of the said Act. Further Section 21 thereof
lays down the duties of police officers, which reads as under :
"21. Duties of Police Officers :-- Every Police Officer shall, for all purposes in this Act contained, be
considered to be always on duty and shall have the powers of a Police Officer in every part of the
General Police District. It shall be his duty to use his best endeavours and ability to prevent all
crimes, offences and public nuisances, to preserve the peace: to apprehend disorderly and
suspicious characters; to detect and bring offenders to justice, to collect and communicate
intelligence affecting the public peace; and promptly to obey and execute all orders and warrants
lawfully issued to him."
12. Similar provisions were made in the Telangana Act also by reason of Section 19 of the said Act.
But, Section 16 of the Telangana Act postulates that police officers enrolled under the Telangana Act
shall not have any other power except powers conferred by the Telangana Act or the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1898.
13. Hyderabad City Police Act is a consolidating law relating to Hyderabad City made with an
objective of providing effective means for prevention and detection of crimes, maintenance of peace
and investigation into crimes. Section 29 enumerates the duties of police officers. Clause (b) of
Section 29 requires every police officer to obtain intelligence concerning the commission of
cognizable offences or design to commit such offences and bring such information to the notice of
superior officers and to take such action consistent with law and with orders of his superior. This
provision is in pari materia with Section 151, Cr. P.C. It is not necessary to refer to various other
duties under the Hyderabad Act. but it is suffice to notice that all the duties are meant to maintain
peace and public order and prevent commission of offences.
14. The various provisions to which a brief reference is made would show that the power of the
police to collect intelligence regarding any design to commit cognizable offences and prevent
commission of cognizable offences is considered to be the inherent power of the police organization.
Whether or not there is a special enactment, the police are expected to perform its functions;
namely, maintenance of peace and public order and prevention of cognizable offences. When all
these statutes dealing with police in Andhra Pradesh deal with duty of the police relating to
cognizable offences, a Police Officer would not be justified in saying that he/she is looking into a
complaint made by a person which has, ex facie, trappings of the civil dispute. Indeed, under
sub-section (1) of Section 154 of Cr. P.C., it shall be within the power and duty of the police officer toregister only a cognizable offence. Though under Section 155 of Cr. P.C. a police officer can make an
entry in the appropriate register about the information as to non-cognizable offence, such police
officer shall not investigate a non-cognizable offence without the order of the Magistrate. As a
necessary corollary, it must be concluded that any effort on the part of the police 'to look into' any
complaint by any person which does not contain allegations of commission of cognizable offences
would not only violate the various provisions of the Andhra Act, as in this case, but also would
violate Section 155(2) of the Cr. P.C. Any such action would be ex facie illegal, whatever be the ipse
dixit of the police. There is no presumption in law that every rift in human relations would lead to a
civil dispute and civil dispute would likely to result in clashes, resulting in offences against human
body. Any such effort on the part of the police to look into the complaints regarding civil disputes is
not even the part of the Code of Conduct of the Police, which was communicated by the Government
of India in 1987 which reads as under :
Code of Conduct for the Police in India
1. The Police must bear faithful allegiance to the Constitution of India and respect and uphold the
rights of the citizens as guaranteed by it.
2. The Police should not question the propriety or necessity of any law duly enacted. They should
enforce the law firmly and impartially, without fear or favour, malice or vindictiveness.
3. The Police should recognize and respect the limitations of their powers and functions. They
should not usurp or even seem to usurp the functions of the judiciary and sit in judgment on cases to
avenge individuals and punish the guilty
4. In securing the observance of law or in maintaining order, the Police should as far as practicable,
use the methods of persuasion, advice and warning. When the application of force becomes
inevitable, only the irreducible minimum of force required in the circumstances should be used.
5. The prime duty of the Police is to prevent crime and disorder and the Police must recognize that
the test of their efficiency is the absence of both and not the visible evidence of Police action in
dealing with them.
6. The Police must recognize that they are members of the public, with the only difference that in the
interest of the society and on its behalf they are employed to give full time attention to duties, which
are normally incumbent on every citizen to perform.
7. The Police should realize that the efficient performance of their duties will be dependent on the
extent of real co-operation that they receive from the public. This, in turn, will depend on their
ability to secure public approval of their conduct and actions and to earn and retain public respect
and confidence.
8. The Police should always keep the welfare of the people in mind and be sympathetic and
considerate towards them. They should always be ready to offer individual service and friendship
and render necessary assistance to all without regard to their wealth or social standing.
9. The Police should always place duty before self, should remain calm in the face of danger, scorn or
ridicule and should be ready to sacrifice their lives in protecting those of others.
10. The Police should always be courteous and well mannered; they should be dependable and
impartial; they should possess dignity and courage; and should cultivate character and the trust of
the people.
11. Integrity of the highest order is the fundamental basis of the prestige of the Police Recognizing
this, the Police must keep their private lives scrupulously clean, develop self-restraint and be
truthful and honest in thought and deed, in both personal and official life, so that the public may
regard them as exemplary citizen.
12. The Police should recognize that their full utility to the State is the best ensured only by
maintaining a high standard of discipline, faithful performance of duties in accordance with law and
implicit obedience to the lawful directions of commanding ranks and absolute loyalty to the force
and by keeping themselves in a state of constant training and preparedness
13. As members of a secular, democratic State, the Police should strive continually to rise above
personal prejudices and promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the
people in India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to
renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women and disadvantaged segments of the society."
15. The Superintendent of Police, in the counter-affidavit in W.P. No. 19056 of 2001, avers that as
and when persons approach the police seeking redressal, police are acting upon it so as to avoid
further clashes and to prevent law and order problem only, cannot be justified under any principle
of law. The statement of the Superintendent of Police that whenever people approach the police with
civil disputes, the people are being advised to approach the Civil Courts, is well within law and the
same is recorded. It is observed that the Superintendent of Police may communicate a copy of this
order to all the subordinate officials in his jurisdiction with a direction to keep in mind the
provisions of Section 155, Cr. P.C. as well as Section, 21 of the Andhra Area Police Act, 1859.
16. In coming to the allegations and counter allegations in this case, no reply affidavit is filed in any
of the writ petitions traversing the counter allegations. It is well settled that when affidavit
averments are not specifically denied, the law presumes that they have been admitted. (See C. S.
Rowji v. State of A. P., , Bharat Singh v. State of Haryana, and Naseem Bano v. State of U. P., .
Having regard to the pleadings, no finding can be recorded as the petition allegations are made on
oath and counter allegations are made equally on oath. If any of the petitioners are still aggrieved
against any alleged high-handedness of either Sub-Inspector of Police or Inspector of Police, it is
open to them to approach the Superintendent of Police by lodging a complaint. As and when such
complaint is made, the Superintendent of Police shall take necessary action after conducting enquiry
against the concerned Police Inspector/Sub-Inspector, against whom complaint is made
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