Magistrate’s Permission Required for Police to Conduct Further Investigation: Supreme Court

In the absence of express permission from the Magistrate, the police cannot proceed with further investigation under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), after filing a closure report, the Supreme Court has reiterated in Paliniswamy Veeraraja & Ors. v. State of Karnataka & Anr. [2026 INSC 561].

The Court observed that although the statute does not expressly require prior permission from the Magistrate for conducting further investigation, judicial precedents have evolved the law to make obtaining such permission from the concerned Magistrate a mandatory requirement.

The judgment relied on the following precedents:

1. Rama Chaudhary v. State of Bihar [(2009) 6 SCC 346]
2. Peethambaran v. State of Kerala & Anr.
3. Vinay Tyagi vs Irshad Ali @ Deepak & Ors [(2013) 5 SCC 762]