Legal Provisions of Section 166 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.), India.
When officer-in-charge of police station may require another to issue search warrant:
The insertion of these two sections by the Cr PC (Amendment) Act of 1990 became necessary for facilitating the ongoing investigation in Bofors Case in which huge amount of money by way of kickbacks and commission was paid by a foreign gun- factory (BOFORS) which was deposited by the accused in their foreign bank accounts in Switzerland.
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These provisions authorise the Indian Court in which an action is pending to request a foreign Court or Judge to take testimony of witness residing within the jurisdiction of that foreign Court and transmit it to the Court making such request for use in a pending legal case. The issuing of such request letter is called “Letter Rogatory”.
The Supreme Court in Union of India v. W.N. Chadha, held that issuing of ‘Letter Rogatory’ by the Delhi Judge for freezing of accounts in Swiss Banks was only to seek judicial assistance from judicial authorities in Switzerland for investigation and collection of evidence and the accused had no right to find faults with the manner in which investigation was making a headway.