Law and You >Procedural Laws > CrPC > Powers of Superior Officers of Police: (S. 36 CrPC)
In this article, we shall study the powers of superior officers of police under Section 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. We shall also study the Ranks in Mumbai Police and State Police.
Section 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 gives Legal provisions regarding powers of superior officers of police.
Section 36: The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Powers of superior officers of police:
Police officers superior in rank to an officer in charge of a police station may exercise the same powers, throughout the local area to which they are appointed, as may be exercised by such officer within the limits of his station.
It is to be noted that, officers assigned to Task Force cannot be said to be police officers superior in rank to officer in charge of police station and they could not possess these powers. Due to greater role in the investigation and prevention of crime, the police officers who are in charge of police stations have been given wider powers.
In the case of cognizable offences, it is the duty of every police officer whether he is in charge of a police station or a superior officer, to make an investigation if and when he receives information about the commission of such an offence.
It is permissible for any superior officer of police to take over the investigation from such officer-in-charge of the police station either suo motu or on the direction of the superior officer even that of the Government. The State Government can direct under Section 36 higher police officials to investigate the case, and such directions can be given by the higher officer to his subordinate officer in the police department.
In the case of State of Bihar v. J A C Saldanha, AIR 1980 SC 326, the Supreme Court held that if the Inspector General (Vigilance) is an officer superior to the officer in charge of the police station he can exercise the powers of that officer throughout the territory to which the superior officer has been appointed, which, in this case is the entire territory of Bihar.
In State of Kerala v. P.B. Sourabhan, 2016 SCC OnLine SC 217 case, the Bench of Supreme Court comprising justices Ranjana Gogoi and Prafulla C Pant dealing with the question that whether the State Police Chief/Director General of Police is empowered to appoint a superior police officer to investigate a crime case registered outside the territorial jurisdiction of such officer. The bench took note of Section 36 of Cr.P.C. and said: “We do not see how Section 36 in CrPC in any way, can debar the exercise of powers by the state police chief to appoint any superior officer who, in his opinion, would be competent and fit to investigate a particular case keeping in view the circumstances thereof”. The Court further observed: “Section 36 of CrPC does not fetter the jurisdiction of the state police chief to pass such an order based on his satisfaction,”
Thus such power is to be exercised by the District Police Chief who, by virtue of the said section, is empowered to appoint an officer above the rank of an officer in charge of a police station to exercise the same powers as may be exercised by an officer in charge of the police station but the power will be subject to the condition that such superior officer would be competent to exercise powers within the territorial/local limits of his jurisdiction. The bench, however, clarified the power of the state police chief will be amenable to the judicial process on grounds of mala fide or as being without justification and reasonable cause.
When the Officer-in-Charge of a Police Station submitted a final report but afterwards on receipt of certain clues by the Officer, superior in rank to the officer-in-charge of the said police station, filed an application for further investigation, his action is valid as per Section 36 of the Code.
Let us have a look at the general hierarchy of cops.
Rank Structure of the Mumbai Police:
| Rank | Cadre |
| Director General of Police (DGP) | IPS |
| Commissioner of Police (CP) | IPS |
| Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt. CP) | IPS |
| Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl. CP) | IPS |
| Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) | IPS |
| Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) | IPS |
| Senior Police Inspector (Sr. PI) | State |
| Police Inspector (PI) | State |
| Assistant Police Inspector (API) | State |
| Police Sub Inspector (PSI) | State |
| Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) | State |
| Head Constable (HC) | State |
| Police Naik (PN) | State |
| Police Constable (PC) | State |
Rank Structure of the State Police:
| Rank | Cadre |
| Director General of Police (DGP) | IPS |
| Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) | IPS |
| Inspector General of Police (IGP) | IPS |
| Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) | IPS |
| Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) | IPS |
| Superintendent of Police (SP) | IPS |
| Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP) | IPS |
| Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy. SP) | IPS |
| Assistant Superintendent of Police (Asst. SP) | IPS |
| Circle Inspector | State |
| Police Inspector (PI) | State |
| Assistant Police Inspector (API) | State |
| Police Sub Inspector (PSI) | State |
| Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) | State |
| Head Constable (HC) | State |
| Police Naik (PN) | State |
| Police Constable (PC) | State |