What are the rules regarding magisterial enquiry?
Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure demands an inquiry by a Magistrate when any person dies in police custody or when a woman commits suicide or dies in suspicious circumstances within seven years of marriage. The nearest Magistrate who has the power to hold the enquiry into the cause of death may do it either instead of or in addition to the investigation held by the police officer. He must record the evidence taken by him, if he finds it necessary, examine the dead body to find the cause of death. Whenever possible, the Magistrate must inform the close relatives (parents, children, brothers, sisters and spouse) of the dead about the enquiry and allow them to be present at the enquiry.
