Section 207 Criminal Procedure Code provides a statutory right of accused of obtaining a copy of a police report and other documents which are relevant in establishing guilt against him. The section imposes a duty upon the magistrate to furnish such copies free of cost to the accused without causing delay. The legislative intent behind the provision is to ensure the right to free and fair trial of accused, one of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, and enabling him to defend as is provided under section 303 Criminal Procedure Code and to make our criminal justice system in tune with natural justice principles.

Meanwhile, there exist some reasonable restrictions upon the provision. Magistrate can withhold such part of police report or documents from furnishing copy to the accused if the police officer submitting the report requests in writing to that effect under section 173 (6) CrPC stating grounds such as;

It is not relevant to the subject matter of the proceeding.

The disclosure to the accused is not essential in the interest of justice or inexpedient in the public interest.

The disclosure will challenge the fundamental rights, to say, right to privacy of the victim, equally guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Section 125 Indian Evidence Act also permits the non-disclosure of identity of informant.

In an effort to balance right of the accused and reasonable restrictions, the Honourable Supreme Court in Dileep V. State of Kerala (2019), made some notable points which include;

Magistrate’s duty under section 207 CrPC is administrative in nature, requiring its full compliance.

Contents of memory card or pendrive being electronic records must be regarded as a document. If the prosecution relies on it, the accused must be given a cloned copy thereof.

The question of balancing interest was answered in such a way that if the disclosure affects privacy of the complainant or witness or his or her identity, the Court may be justified in providing only inspection thereof to the accused or his lawyer for presenting effective defense during trial.