CBI's crime manual not statute but set of administrative

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Special procedures prescribed under CBI manual are not statute as these have not been enacted by the legislature and are not to be followed by police while registering cases under Criminal Procedure Code, the Supreme Court today held.
The apex court, which is to examine the constitutional validity of setting up of the agency which has been declared illegal by Gauhati High Court, said that CBI is constituted under a Special Act and derives its power from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam turned down the plea of some state governments that police be also allowed to conduct preliminary inquiry before registering FIR, a procedure followed by CBI.

"It is true that the concept of preliminary inquiry is contained in Chapter IX of the Crime Manual of the CBI. However, this Crime Manual is not a statute and has not been enacted by the legislature. It is a set of administrative orders issued for internal guidance of the CBI officers. It cannot supersede the Criminal Procedure Code," the bench said.
It said that in the absence of any indication to the contrary in the code itself, the provisions of the CBI Crime Manual cannot be relied upon to import the concept of holding of preliminary inquiry.
"At this juncture, it is also pertinent to submit that the CBI is constituted under a Special Act, namely, the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 and it derive its power to investigate from this Act," the bench said.

"In view of the above specific provisions in the Code, the powers of the CBI under the DSPE Act, cannot be equated with the powers of the regular state police under the code," it said.