KHALIL-UR-REHMAN RAMDAY, J.--- We are pained to see the impugned order wherein the learned Judge in Chamber had directed that the petitioners before his Lordship who were the accused persons of F.I.R. No,218 of Police Station Khushab would "not be treated as accused and would not be challaned" in the said case only because some S.I./I.O. Had informed the learned High Court that the involvement of the said accused persons in the said case could not be established and further that the said accused persons had not forged any document or offered any kind of inducement to the complainant to secure any pecuniary benefit.
2. A bare perusal of section 4(1) of the Cr.P.C. Should have been sufficient to acquaint us with the fact that the investigation only meant collection of evidence and no more. We need to remind ourselves and keep in mind that the determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person was an obligation cast on the Courts of law which task could never be permitted to be delegated to the Police Officers investigating a case. It was for this reason that the provisions of section 63 of the Cr.P.C. Prohibited discharge of an accused person except under a special order of a Magistrate and likewise the provisions of Rule 24.7 of the Police Rules of 1934 prohibited cancellation of F.I.Rs, without the orders of a Magistrate.
3. The provisions of section 173,Cr.P.C. Provide only that after the available material had been collected by the S.H.O. During the course of an investigation then the result of the same had to be reported to the Magistrate competent to take cognizance under section 190, Cr.P.C. And thereafter it was for the competent Magistrate/Court to decide whether an accused person did or did not deserve to be tried.
4. In this view of the matter, we find that the impugned order passed by the learned High Court only on alleged opinion of an I.O. Could not be sustained. This petition is, consequently, converted into an appeal which is allowed as a result whereof the said impugned order is set aside and the S.H.O.
Of the concerned Police Station is now directed to feel free to proceed with the matter in accordance with law.