Question

As per the Criminal Procedure Code, during investigation a search can be conducted without warrant by

• A. Judicial officer
• B. Any Person
• C. The investigating officer
• D. Any police officer

Hint:

The power of search without a warrant under Section 165 CrPC is an exception to the general rule and is vested specifically with an investigating officer or an officer in charge of a police station. Remember the key condition: urgency and the risk of evidence being lost.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The way to answer this precisely is to notice that Section 165 restricts this power to a specific role, not to police officers or the public generally.

1. Rule out the non-police options: A judicial officer issues warrants rather than conducting searches personally, and "any person" would mean handing a coercive investigative power to the public, which the law does not do.
2. Narrow within the police: Section 165 does not say "any police officer" may search without a warrant; it specifically confines this power to an officer in charge of a police station, or the officer actually carrying out the investigation, who reasonably believes evidence would otherwise be lost.
3. Match precisely: Because the statute is deliberately narrower than "any police officer," the accurate answer is the officer conducting the investigation.

The correct answer is The investigating officer.

Answer 2

It also helps to think about why the law restricts this power at all, to balance the need for speed against the risk of misuse.

1. Judicial officer: Requiring a magistrate to personally conduct every urgent search would defeat the very purpose of Section 165, which exists precisely because waiting for a formal warrant could allow evidence to be lost or destroyed.
2. Any Person: Letting anyone conduct a search would strip away every safeguard against abuse of this coercive power, which is why the law ties it to a specific, accountable official rather than to the public at large.
3. The investigating officer: Confining the power to the officer actually investigating the case strikes the right balance, allowing swift action to prevent loss of evidence while keeping the exercise of this power accountable to a specific, identifiable official who must record reasons for the search.
4. Any police officer: Extending the power to every police officer, whether or not connected with the specific investigation, would remove the accountability that comes from tying the power to the officer who actually understands the case and can justify the urgency.

Balancing urgency against accountability again points to the investigating officer as the one Section 165 authorises.

Hence, the correct answer is The investigating officer.