Case Brief
Suresh Chand Jain v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Another– Appeal (crl.) 43 of 2001
Deciding Authority
Supreme Court
Name of the Judges
K.T. Thomas, R.P. Sethi
Date of Judgment
10th January 2001
Facts of the Case
A complaint was forwarded by a magistrate to the police for registering an FIR and for conducting investigation. One of the persons arrayed in the complaint as accused questioned the legality of the above order first in revision before the Sessions Court and then by invoking the inherent powers of the High Court. Both did not succeed. This appeal was by the same person contending that the order of the magistrate should have been upset in the interest of justice.
The complaint was filed by the second respondent (Mahesh Patidar) before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Neemuch (M.P.) on 12.8.1999 alleging that the appellant and his wife Geeta Devi have committed offence under Section 3 of the Prized Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Prohibition) Act and under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The Chief Judicial Magistrate passed an order on 18.8.1999 which is extracted below:
The complaint submitted by the complainant has been perused. This complaint has been submitted by the complainant for initiating action against the accused under Section 3 of the Prizes, Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Prohibition) Act and Section 420 of the IPC. Both the offences are serious, therefore, the case is required to be investigated by the police station, Nemuch Cantt. under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C., therefore, the complaint submitted by the complainant be sent to the In-charge, Police Station Neemuch Cantt. with the direction to register F.I.R. and initiate investigation. The copy of the F.I.R. be sent to this court immediately.
Appellant challenged the said order in a revision before the Sessions Court and when the revision was dismissed he moved the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short the Code). Learned Single Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh took the view that in a private complaint case under Section 156(3) of the Code the magistrate is empowered to order investigation; the allegation made in the complaint needs to be investigated in public interest.
Judgment
Shri R.K. Jain learned senior counsel, contended first that a magistrate on receipt of a complaint should have examined the complainant on oath before proceeding to any other step. Learned senior counsel adopted the alternative contention that the magistrate has no power to direct the police to register an FIR. In support of the said contention learned counsel cited two decisions. One is Ram Narain vs. Lokuram {1986(37) Rajasthan Law Weekly 143} and the other was rendered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Suresh Kumar vs. State of Haryana {1996 (3) Recent Criminal Reports 137}.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court observed that Chapter XII of the Code contains provisions relating to information to the police and their powers to investigate, whereas Chapter XV, which contains Section 202, deals with provisions relating to the steps which a magistrate has to adopt while and after taking cognizance of any offence on a complaint. Section 156, falling within Chapter XII, deals with powers of the police officers to investigate cognizable offences. But the investigation envisaged in Section 202 is different from the investigation contemplated in Section 156 of the Code.
The investigation contemplated in that Chapter can be commenced by the police even without the order of a magistrate. But that does not mean that when a magistrate orders an investigation under Section 156(3) it would be a different kind of investigation. Such investigation must also end up only with the report contemplated in Section 173 of the Code. But the significant point to be noticed is, when a magistrate orders investigation under Chapter XII he does so before he takes cognizance of the offence. But a magistrate need not order any such investigation if he proposes to take cognizance of the offence. Once he takes cognizance of the offence he has to follow the procedure envisaged in Chapter XV of the Code. A reading of Section 202(1) of the Code would convince that the investigation referred to therein is of a limited nature. The magistrate can direct such an investigation to be made either by a police officer or by any other person. Such investigation is only for helping the magistrate to decide whether or not there is sufficient ground for him to proceed further. This can be discerned from the culminating words in Section 202(1) i.e. or direct an investigation to be made by a police officer or by such other persons as he thinks fit, for the purpose of deciding whether or not there is sufficient ground for proceeding. This is because he has already taken cognizance of the offence disclosed in the complaint, and the domain of the case would thereafter vest with him.
The position is thus clear. Any judicial magistrate, before taking cognizance of the offence, can order investigation under Section 156(3) of the Code. If he does so, he is not to examine the complainant on oath because he was not taking cognizance of any offence therein. For the purpose of enabling the police to start investigation it is open to the magistrate to direct the police to register an FIR. There is nothing illegal in doing so. In Tula Ram vs. Kishore Singh a two Judge Bench of this Court, after referring to the earlier decision, reiterated the same legal position.
Decision
The Hon’ble Supreme Court observed that in the present case the High Court of Madhya Pradesh had rightly upheld the course adopted by the magistrate. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed.
Shubham Shandilya, 4th Year, B.B.A. LL.B., Symbiosis Law School, Pune
A COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE FOR ALL LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS