MAINTENANCE AND USE OF CASE DIARY IN

INVESTIGATION SECTION 172 OF THE CODE OF THE

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ,1973

Section 172 deals with Diary of Proceeding

in Investigation
(1) Every police officer making an investigation under this chapter shall day by day enter his
proceeding in the investigation in a diary , setting forth the time at which the information
reached him , the time at which he began and closed his investigation , the place or places
visited by him, and a statement of the circumstances ascertained through his
investigation.
(1A) The Statements of witnesses recorded during the course of investigation under Section
161 shall be inserted in the case Diary.
(1B)The diary referred to in subsection (1) shall be a volume and duly paginated.
(2) Any Criminal Court may send for the police diaries of a case under Inquiry or trial in such
court, and may use diaries, not as evidence in the case, but to aid it in such inquiry or trial.
(3) Neither the accused nor his agents shall be entitled to call foe such diaries , nor shall be or
they be entitled to see them merely because they are referred to by the Court; but, if they
are used by the police officer who made them to refresh his memory , or if the court uses
them for the purpose of contradicting such police officer , the provisions of section 161 or
section 145 as the case may be of the Indian Evidence Act,1872 (1 of 1872 ) ,shall apply.

FACTS TO BE INCORPORATED IN CASE DIARIES

The case diary, which is a record of day by day investigation of a case, shall contain
details of the time at which the information reached the Investigating Officer, time
at which the investigation began and was closed ,the place or places visited by him
and a statement of the facts and circumstances ascertained through investigation.

Case diaries should contain only particulars of actual steps taken or progress made
in the investigation and such details of Investigation which have bearing on the
case. Addresses ,both present and permanent of the witnesses and all other relevant
details should be invariably recorded in the Case Diaries.
The following shall not be incorporated in the case Diaries :
Opinion of Investigating officer ,Opinion of the Supervisory Officers and Law
Officers.
Any Conflict of opinion between Investigation Officer, Law Officers,
Superintendent of police, DIG and Head Office.
Recommendations made in Concluding report of the Officer, Comments of Law
Officer(s) and Supervisory Officers.
Any other Facts/ Circumstances not relating to investigation of the case.

Every Investigating officer, to whom part investigation of a case is entrusted ,will

also maintain a case Diary for the investigation made by him. This may be called
Supplementary Case Diary (SCD).
Supplementary Case Diary will be taken on record by the chief Investigating
Officer, who may incorporate the gist of important facts disclosed in such
investigation in his own Case Diary for the Date when the Supplementary Case
Diary is received by him.
It is important that Supplementary Case Diary must be submitted without any
delay. A copy of the Case Diary submitted by Investigating Officer / Chief
Investigating Officer to the Superintendent of Police would invariably enclose the
Supplementary Case Diaries received by him.
Section 172 Cr.p.c mandates writing and maintenance of the case Diary. SubSection (1) stipulates that Police Officer making investigation shall, on each day,
enter proceedings relating to Investigation in the diary including the time at which
he began and closed his investigation ,the place or places visited by him and a
statement of circumstances ascertained during his investigation, i.e Record of the
proceedings.

It means this section deals with or shows that what a Special diary of a Policeofficer making an investigation should contain . Every police-officer making an
investigation shall enter his proceedings in a diary which may be used at the trial or
inquiry , not as evidence in the case but to aid the court in such inquiry or an
investigation started under section 174 of the code.
PEARY MOHAN DAS V D. WESTON
BHAGWAT SINGH V COMMISISONER OF POLICE
HAMIDULLA V STATE OF GUJARAT
RECENT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES:
In section 172, after sub sec (1), new sub-sec (1A) and (1B) have
been inserted , by section 15 of the Cr.p.c (Amendment ) Act, 2008
(5 of 2009).Section 172, relates to diary of proceedings in
investigation.
Two new sub-sections (1A) and (1B) have been inserted so as to
provide that the statements of witnesses recorded during the
course of investigation under section 161 shall be recorded in the
case diary and that such Diary shall be a bound volume and duly
paginated.

SCOPE AND APPLICATION

Dal singh V Emperor

Palaniswamy V State
Dhananjay Kumar Singh v State Of Rajasthan
Peary Mohan Das V D. Weston
Ganakanta Das V State Of Assam
Dadan Gazi V Emperor

USE OF CASE DIARY

Mukund lal v Union of India
Director,CBI V Niyamavedi
Gouranga Naik V State
Malkiat Singh V State of Punjab
Basant Singh V State Of Bihar
Shamshul Kumwar V State
Sidharth V State of Bihar
Subhash Chandra V Union of India
CASE DIARY CANNOT BE USED AS EVIDENCE
LIMITATIONS AS TO USE
State of Kerala V Ammini
Habeeb Mohammed V State of Hyderabad

NON-PRODUCTION OF CASE DIARY

Jai Singh V State Of Rajasthan

GENERAL DIARY:
Sadhu Singh V state of U.P

NON- EXAMINATION OF INVESTIGATING OFFICER:

Basant singh V State of Bihar
Nagina Sharma V State of Bihar
WHEN INVESTIGATING OFFICER IS DEAD
Hakru V State of Rajasthan
INVESTIGATING OFFICER IS LIKE ANY OTHER WITNESS
INVESTIGATING OFFICER IS A MATERIAL WITNESS
Nagina Sharma V State of Bihar
DEFECTIVE INVESTIGATION
CONCLUSION