CRIMINAL COMPLAINT TO MAGISTRATE

INTRODUCTION

Before proceeding with the discussion, it is important that one knows what exactly a criminal complaint is. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a complaint any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence.[1] This in the usual course does not include a police report; unless it is such that the report made by the police officer, after investigation, discloses the commission of a non-cognizable offence, in that case, it shall be deemed to be a complaint. In this article therefore, we will be discussing the situations that usually follow the submission of a criminal complaint to a magistrate.

1. COGNIZANCE OF AN OFFENSE BY THE MAGISTRATE

A criminal complaint to the magistrate, provided he has been satisfied of the authenticity and the fulfilment of the ingredients needed to constitute the offence complained of, is often succeeded by the cognizance of that offence. As such, it becomes critical to know what exactly it means. The word cognizance according to the Cambridge dictionary means to take notice of or making oneself aware about something; in legal terms therefore, although not defined by the CrPC, it is used to reference a Court or Magistrate taking judicial notice of the offence committed, so as to decide whether there exist any basis for initiating proceedings and determination of the cause or matter judicially.[2]

In the language of the Honble Apex Court in its decision in R.R.Chari v. State of U.P[3], taking cognizance does not involve any formal action or indeed action of any kind but occurs as soon as a Magistrate as such applies his mind to the suspected commission of the offense.

Section 190 of the CrPC stipulates that subject to the provisions of Section 195-199 of the CrPC, the cognizance of an offence may be taken by any Magistrate of the First Class or, in some cases, by any Magistrate of the Second Class who is empowered on behalf of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, provided that such offences are within his competence to inquire into or try.[4] Such cognizance, as per by the section can only be carried out if the magistrate receives,

i) a complaint of facts of the offence, or

ii) a police report of that committed offence, or

iii) upon receival of information by any person other than the police, and lastly,

iv) if the commission of an offense comes into his knowledge.

It is to be noted that although the subsequent procedures taken make little difference, for this article, we shall only look into what exactly happens after the magistrate receives a complaint of an offense and takes cognizance of it.

2. WHAT PRECEDES THE COGNIZANCE OF AN OFFENCE?

Section 200 of the CrPC enunciates the procedure preceding the cognizance of an offence.[5] It states that, a magistrate, before taking cognizance of an offence shall have to examine the complainant and any witnesses, if present; this will be followed by the substance of each of these examinations being reduced to writing and further being signed by the complainant, the witnesses as well as the magistrate. Thereafter, if the magistrate is satisfied upon inspection that an offence was committed, he will go on to take cognizance of it; in another case, if such satisfaction is not reached, he may either dismiss the complaint or order the police to undertake some further investigation under Section 202 of the Code.[6]

There is one exception: if the complaint is made in writing by a court or a public servant acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duties, or if the magistrate to whom the case was submitted had transferred the case to another competent magistrate under Section 192 of the CrPC, the magistrate to whom the complaint was originally made would not be required to conduct the examinations. If, however, the examinations are already carried out before the case is transferred, the magistrate to whom the case is transferred need not concern themselves with the examinations.

3. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE MAGISTRATE IS NOT COMPETENT TO TAKE COGNIZANCE OF THE CASE?

There sometimes arises the occasion when a criminal complaint is not made to the competent magistrate, that is, the magistrate in question is not empowered under law to take cognizance of the offence complained off. Fortunately, in the CrPC, there exist provisions which deal with exactly such cases. Section 201 states that, if the complaint is in writing it shall be directed for presentation to the competent Court, with an endorsement to that effect; on the other hand, a complaint being made orally ends with the complainant being directed to the proper Court to submit his complaint.[7]

4. WHEN CAN THE MAGISTRATE POSTPONE THE ISSUE OF PROCESS?

The issue of process in legal terms refers to the formal commencement of legal proceedings against the accused.

After a magistrate takes cognizance of an offence, what follows is the legal proceeding pertaining to the case. However, at times, it so happens that on order of the magistrate in charge, this legal process is postponed; Section 202 of the CrPC states under which circumstances such a decision of postponement is usually taken.[8] According to the section, after taking cognizance of an offence, the magistrate may postpose the issue of process if he thinks it fit or shall have to do so where the accused is residing at a place beyond the area in which he exercises his jurisdiction; following this, he is to either inquire into the case himself or, direct an investigation to be made by the police or any other person he deems competent, so as to make sure that there is sufficient grounds for a legal proceeding. In a way hence, this section envisions a post-cognizance stage, considering its applicability arises provided the complaint is not dismissed and the magistrate takes cognizance of the offence complained of.

The scope of such power to postpone is however not without limitations,

i) It is clearly mentioned in the subsection (a) of Section 202(1) that no direction for investigation by the magistrate can be made if the offence complained of is exclusively triable by the Court of Session.

ii) But if we skim through the section, it is interesting to note that prima facie it seems to contradict itself; subsection 1(a) of Section 202 clearly seems to be contradicted by the fact that the immediate succeeding subsection 202(2) that states that during an inquiry by the magistrate, if the case appears to be exclusively triable by the Court of Session, he is to call upon the complainant to produce all his witnesses and examine them on oath.

iii) Fortunately, the resolution to this seeming contradiction lies in understanding that while subsection (1) gives the Magistrate the option to conduct an investigation or to personally inquire, if it so happens that offense is of a particular gravity and thus only subject to trial by the Court of Session, sub-section (2) specifies procedural requirements that must be adhered to during the inquiry (likely in order to ensure more thorough process of questioning of the ones under oath).

5. UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES CAN A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT DISMISSED?

A complaint made to the magistrate can only be dismissed provided that he is of opinion that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding; this is also with reference to the inability to acquire sufficient grounds for a legal proceeding after considering the statements on oath of the complainant and of the witnesses and the result of the inquiry or investigation made under Section 202 (if any).[9] However, it is to be noted that in every such case of dismissal, the magistrate shall have to, under law, briefly record his reasons for doing so.

6. DOES THE MAGISTRATE HAVE THE POWER TO REVIEW HIS DECISION AFTER THE ISSUE OF PROCESS ?

The CrPC does not provide the magistrate with the power to review, that is, he can neither review his decision of dismissal of the complaint, nor can he review his decision to issue a summon or warrant; whatever decision he takes can be said to be binding.[10] A good example of this can be seen in the case Adalat Prasad v. Rooplal Jindal (2004)[11] where the Apex Court held that, if the Magistrate did not dismiss the complaint and instead issued process, then the accused cannot approach the court under section 203 CrPC for dismissal of the complaint; such is this because by that time, the stage concerning section 203 is already considered to be over.

It doesnt however means that a decision to a complaint can in no way be challenged; Section 482 of the CrPC stands as the provision that allows that High Court to make necessary orders, as if sees fit, so as to prevent the abuse of power given to any Court, or in this case Magistrate.[12]

CONCLUSION

In the pursuit of a fair and just society, the submission of a criminal complaint to the magistrate stands as a vital step to the adherence of due process and rule of law; the procedure, as discussed in the article, assumes itself as a shield protecting individuals against arbitrary detentions and unjustified prosecutions, guaranteeing that every person subject to the law has an equal opportunity to refute any accusations made against. Therefore, as we continue to traverse the complexities of criminal justice, it is integral to realise the importance of this initial stagethe filing of a criminal complaint to a magistrate. It not only sets the wheels of justice in motion but also reflects one of the fundamental concepts that drive our judicial system: it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.

REFERENCES

1. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), s. 2.

2. Cognizance of Offences, India, available at: https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/cognizance-offences/ (last visited at December 25, 2023).

3. 1951 AIR 207, 1951 SCR 312

4. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), s. 190.

5. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), s. 200.

6. Criminal Complaint To Magistrate, India, available at: https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-2813-criminal-complaint-to-magistrate.html (last visited at December 25, 2023).

7. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), s. 201.

8. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), s. 202.

9. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), s. 203.

10. Supra note 6.

11. 7 SCC 338.

12. Supra note 6.