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(1) Whenever any Court or any officer in charge of a police station considers that the production of any document or other thing is necessary or desirable for the purposes of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Code by or before such Court or officer, such Court may issue a summons, or such officer a written order, to the person in whose possession or power such document or thing is believed to be, requiring him to attend and produce it, or to produce it, at the time and place stated in the summons or order.
(2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document or other thing shall be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he causes such document or thing to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed–
(a) to affect sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), or the Bankers Books Evidence Act, 1891 (13 of 1891), or
(b) to apply to a letter, postcard, telegram or other document or any parcel or thing in the custody of the postal or telegraph authority.
Study Notes
Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) empowers a court or police officer in charge of a police station to issue a summons or written order to a person in possession of a document or other thing, requiring them to attend and produce it or produce it at the stated time and place. This section lays down the provisions for summoning a person to produce a document or thing.
- Issuing summons or written order:
The court or police officer in charge of a police station can issue a summons or written order to the person who is believed to be in possession or control of the document or thing that is necessary or desirable for the purposes of an investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Code.
- Attendance and production:
The person who is issued a summons or written order is required to attend and produce the document or thing at the time and place stated in the summons or order.
- Complying with requisition:
If a person is required merely to produce a document or thing under this section, they are deemed to have complied with the requisition if they cause the document or thing to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same.
- Exceptions:
This section does not affect sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 or the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891. Also, it does not apply to a letter, postcard, telegram, or any other document or parcel in the custody of the postal or telegraph authority.
This section should be read along with:-:
Cr.P.C:
- s.165(1)
- s.166A
- s.233
- s.243(2)
- s.461(b)
I.E.A
- s.123
- s.124
- s.139
I.P.C
- s.175
C.P.C
- Order XVI Rule 6
(1) If any document, parcel or thing in the custody of a postal or telegraph authority is, in the opinion of the District Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court of Session or High Court wanted for the purpose of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Code, such Magistrate or Court may require the postal or telegraph authority, as the case may be, to deliver the document, parcel or thing to such person as the Magistrate or Court directs.
(2) If any such document, parcel or thing is, in the opinion of any other Magistrate, whether Executive or Judicial, or of any Commissioner of Police or District Superintendent of Police, wanted for any such purpose, he may require the postal or telegraph authority, as the case may be, to cause search to be made for and to detain such document, parcel or thing pending the order of a District Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or Court under sub-section (1).
Study Notes
Section 92 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) deals with the procedure as to letters and telegrams. The section can be summarised as follows:
- Power to require delivery of documents, parcels, or things: If any document, parcel, or thing in the custody of a postal or telegraph authority is needed for the purpose of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceeding under the CrPC, the District Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court of Session or High Court may require the postal or telegraph authority to deliver the document, parcel or thing to such person as the Magistrate or Court directs.
- Power to detain documents, parcels, or things: If any document, parcel, or thing is needed for any such purpose, any other Magistrate, whether Executive or Judicial, or any Commissioner of Police or District Superintendent of Police may require the postal or telegraph authority to cause a search to be made for and to detain such document, parcel, or thing pending the order of a District Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or Court under sub-section (1).
The key points to note regarding Section 92 of the CrPC are:
- This section provides the procedure for obtaining documents, parcels, or things that are in the custody of a postal or telegraph authority.
- The power to require delivery of such documents, parcels, or things is vested in the District Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court of Session, or High Court.
- Other Magistrates, such as Executive or Judicial Magistrates, or Commissioners of Police or District Superintendents of Police, have the power to detain such documents, parcels, or things pending the order of a higher Magistrate or Court.
- Section 461 of the CrPC deals with irregularities which vitiate proceedings. Subsection (b) of Section 461 specifically deals with the situation where a magistrate who is not empowered by law in this regard issues a search warrant for a document, parcel, or other thing in the custody of a postal or telegraph authority. This means that if a magistrate who does not have the authority to do so issues a search warrant for such items, it will be considered an irregularity that vitiates the proceedings.
Therefore, while Section 92 allows a magistrate or court to obtain such documents, parcels, or things, it can only be done in accordance with the provisions of Section 92. If a magistrate were to issue a search warrant for such items without following the procedure laid down in Section 92, it would be considered an irregularity under Section 461(b) and would vitiate the proceedings.