RAM LAL NARANG ETC. ETC. versus STATE OF DELHI (ADMN.)

Citation: [1979] 2 S.C.R. 923 · Decided: 10-01-1979 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: N.L. UNTWALIA · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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923 
RAM LAL NARANG ETC. ETC. 
·A 
v. 
STATE OF DELHI (ADMN.) 
January 10, 1979 
[N. L. UNTWALIA AND 0. CHINNAPPA REDDY, JJ.] 
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Section 173-Whether the Police have 
powers to jur1/l~r investigate, after the magistrate has taken cognizance of the 
offence-Scope and ambit of Section 173 Cr. P.C. 
A criminal case, arisi1.1g out of F.I.R. 72 of 1967 against one Sri Bali Ram 
Sharma and two others for the offence of the th'eft of two sandstone pillars 
of great antiquity, beauty and value from the Suraj Kund Temple, in village 
Amin, Dist. Karnal, ended in the acquittal of the accused. During th! pendency 
of this ca~'e •. on an applica.tion made by him rn:1e Narinder Nath Malik (N. N. 
Malik) an alleged research scholar and a. friend of H. L. Mehfa, the then Chief 
Judicial Magistrate was given the custody of these two sandstone pillars which 
had been recovered from th'e accused. 
The pilla.rs remuined in the custody of 
N. N. Malik from 1-3-1968 to 27-5-1968 and on the acquittal of the accused 
on 16-7-1968, they were handed over to the Lambardar of Village Amin. LatC:r, 
it came to light that the pillars returned by Malik w'ere not the original pillars 
but fakes. 
1hereupon, F.I.R. RC 2-71-CIA/SPEICBI was 
registered 
at 
Delhi against Malik and H. L Mehra under Section 120 B read with Sections 
406 and 420 J.P.C. After completing the investigation a charge sheet No. RC 2 
of 1971 wa:rs fded on 30-12-1972, in the Court of Spe-cial Magistrate, Ambala 
against Malik and H. L Mehra for the aforesaid offences noted in the F.l.R. 
Though an order was passed oo 17-5-1976 directing the framing of charge3, no 
charges were actuaJly framed. 
However, on 16-5-77, on an application dated 
17-4-77 filed by the Public Prosecutor under Section 494 of the Criminal 
Procedure Code, 1973, the Special Magistr~te permitted the \vithdrawal of the 
case and discharged the accused. 
During th'e pendency of the case, the two 
genuine pillars were traced and found in London in the ware house Of Spink & 
Co. 
Jt wa.s \uspected that Manohar Lal Narang and Ramlal 
Narang 
had 
engaged Balkisban Rawat and Nathubai Rawal of Delhi to make three s'ets of 
t'aJceB and had exported the genuine pillars to London. 
This resulted in the 
registering of F.T.R. RC 4/76-0W(A)/SPE by the Superintendent of Police, CIV 
(Antiquities 5PE/CBI, New Delhi) against l\fanohar L'll Narang and others for 
aHet:ed offences under Section 120B, read \.Vith Section 411 IP.C. and Section 
25 (I) of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972. 
An application under 
s. 306 Cr.P.C. filed by N. N. Malik on 26-6-1976 before the Chief Metropolitan 
M;iglstrate, New Delhi with reference to this F.lR. RC 4/76, was accepted on 
3-7-1976 and Malik was granted pardon, after confessiorial 
statement 
was 
recorded. 
On 19-r-1976 a charge sheet was filed (RC 4 of 1976) before the 
same Court for offences under Sections 120B, I.P.C. r~ad with Section 420, 
411 and 406 J.P.C. and Section 25 of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 
1972. The case was transferred to the Court of Additional Chier Metropolitim 
Magistrate. 
On 20-7-1976 the Magistrate issued process for the appearance of 
the accused including the three Narang brothers out of whom the appellant in 
Cr!. Appeal 373 of 1978 was already under 
detention 
under 
MISA 
and 
COFEPOSA. The other two who were in London were extradited and brought 
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924 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1979] 2 S.C.R. 
A 
to India on 27-7-1977. An application filed by Ramlal Narang in March 1977 
immedia.tely after his release from detention, to drop the proceedings against 
him, to cancel the extradition warrants against his two brothers and to 
dis-
charge all the accused on the ground of illegality of the Delhi case in view of 
the fact that a case on the same facts was a.lready pe~ding in th'e Ambala Court 
failed. 
Thereafter two applications filed by the three N arang brothers 
on 
21-6-1977 in the Delhi High Court under Section 482 Crl. P.C. once again 
B 
challenging the legality of the proceedings arising out of charge sheet RC 4 of 
1974 were admitted on 22-6-1977, but dismissed on 10-1-1978. During the pen-
dency of these two appeals Malik died sometime during May 1977 and Mehra 
\\·as made a co-accused in the Delhi case on 1-8-1977 in view of th'e withdrawal 
of the Ambala case on 1~-5-1977. 
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Dismissing the appeals by special IeM>e, the Court, 
HELD : 1. The police hav
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