Magistrate's power under Section 156(3) cannot compel CBI investigation; direction to register an FIR was set aside.

Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers a Magistrate to direct the officer in charge of a police station to investigate, but it does not extend to compelling the CBI to register an FIR or conduct an investigation. The controlling legal position is that this provision cannot be stretched beyond its statutory scope, and a direction issued to the CBI under that provision is inconsistent with settled law. On that basis, the order directing the CBI to register an FIR and investigate was held unsustainable and was set aside.

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Issues: Whether a Magistrate can direct the CBI to register an FIR and conduct an investigation under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The controlling principle applied was that the power under Section 156(3) does not extend beyond directing the officer in charge of a police station to conduct investigation. The provision cannot be stretched to authorise a Magistrate to compel the CBI to investigate, and the contrary direction was therefore inconsistent with the settled legal position.

Conclusion: The direction to the CBI to register an FIR and investigate was unsustainable and was set aside.

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