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2024 Supreme(SC) 444

SANJIV KHANNA, S. V. N. BHATTI
Sharif Ahmed – Appellant
Versus
State Of Uttar Pradesh – Respondent


Advocates appeared:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. Rauf Rahim, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ali Asghar Rahim, Adv. Ms. Fatima Baig, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Kumar, AOR Mr. Syed Mehdi Imam, AOR Mr. Mohd Parvez Dabas, Adv. Mr. Uzmi Jamil Husain, Adv. Mr. Tabrez Ahmad, Adv. Ms. Rebecca John, Sr. Adv. Ms. Meenakshi Kalra, AOR Mr. Saad Sharif, Adv. Mr. S.N. Kalra, Adv. Mr. Kamal, Adv. Mr. Jyoti Sharma, Adv. Mr. Amratansh Aggarwal, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Adarsh Upadhyay, AOR Mr. Amit Singh, Adv. Mr. Aman Pathak, Adv. Mrs. Pooja Kabra, Adv. Mrs. Sujata Upadhyay, Adv. Ms. Pallavi Kumari, Adv. Mr. Sudeep Kumar, AOR Ms. Manisha, Adv. Mr. Rajat Singh, AOR Mr. Sarthak Chandra, Adv. Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, AOR Mr. Gaurav Verma, Adv. Mr. Dushyant Parashar, AOR

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:

  1. The contents of a charge-sheet are considered complete when it references material and evidence sufficient to take cognizance and proceed to trial. The evidence should prima facie establish that an offence is made out if proven (!) (!) .

  2. The role played by each accused must be explicitly and separately mentioned in the charge-sheet to ensure clarity and proper understanding of each individual's involvement (!) (!) .

  3. The police investigation should be thorough, reflecting a clear and complete inquiry into the offence, including all relevant facts, evidence, and statements. The investigation report must contain sufficient details to enable the court to understand the case and decide on cognizance (!) (!) (!) .

  4. The police report or charge-sheet should not be overly technical but must pragmatically balance protecting the rights of the accused and enabling the prosecution to proceed effectively, including the inclusion of relevant evidence and material facts (!) (!) .

  5. The standard for the police to forward a charge-sheet is that it should indicate material and evidence sufficient to establish a case, not necessarily to prove guilt but to show that an offence appears to have been committed based on the investigation (!) (!) .

  6. The decision to take cognizance, issue process, or summon an accused relies heavily on the information and evidence presented in the charge-sheet. It must reflect a thorough investigation that reasonably shows that an offence has been committed and that the accused is involved (!) (!) .

  7. The authority of a magistrate to issue summons or warrants must be exercised with caution, ensuring there are sufficient grounds for proceeding. The reasons for such issuance need not always be explicitly recorded, but the grounds must be prima facie established (!) (!) .

  8. The provisions for exemption from personal appearance should be interpreted liberally, considering the circumstances of each case, and should not be restricted solely to post-bail situations. The court’s discretion should be exercised in a manner that upholds justice and fairness (!) (!) .

  9. The issuance of non-bailable warrants should not be routine; they require careful consideration that the accused is likely to evade justice or tamper with evidence, and such warrants should be issued only when justified by the facts (!) .

  10. The process of framing charges should ensure that the accused is adequately informed of the allegations, with clear particulars regarding the time, place, and nature of the offence. Separate charges should be framed for distinct offences, and they should be tried separately unless the circumstances justify joint trial (!) (!) .

  11. The court emphasizes the importance of a proper, complete, and detailed charge-sheet to enable the magistrate to exercise their functions effectively, including the power to call for further investigation or clarification if necessary (!) (!) .

  12. The legal procedures, from investigation to cognizance, process issuance, and framing of charges, must be followed diligently, with the court ensuring that the rights of the accused are protected and that proceedings are based on a sound and complete investigation record (!) (!) .

  13. The court has the authority to quash proceedings or chargesheets that are found to be vague, incomplete, or not in accordance with statutory requirements, ensuring that criminal proceedings are not initiated based on insufficient or improper evidence (!) (!) .

  14. The principles governing the exercise of judicial discretion include ensuring fairness, avoiding vexatious proceedings, and safeguarding individual liberty, especially in cases where the charge-sheet lacks sufficient particulars or evidence (!) (!) .

  15. Ultimately, the court's role is to ensure that criminal proceedings are initiated and conducted based on complete, accurate, and legally compliant charge-sheets, with proper regard for procedural safeguards and substantive fairness (!) (!) (!) .


Leave granted in the above matters.

2. The concerns which have arisen during the course of hearing the present appeals are of particular significance for meeting the ends of criminal justice, and relate to the nature of chargesheets filed in some jurisdictions by the state/police. For the sake of convenience, we would divide the judgment into two parts. The first part relates to the legal issue, that is, the contents of the chargesheet in terms of Section 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 19731[“Code”, for short.]. The second part deals with the factual aspects of each of the cases, and our decision.

PART I

3. The issue in the first part relates to chargesheets being filed without stating sufficient details of the facts constituting the offense or putting the relevant evidence on record. In some states, the chargesheets merely carry a reproduction of the details mentioned by the complainant in the First Information Report2[“FIR”, for short.], and then proceed to state whether an offence is made out, or not made out, without any elucidation on the evidence and material relied upon. On this issue, the recent judgment of this Court in Dablu Kujur v. State of Jharkhand, 2024 SCC O

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