IMPORTANT POINT
In law, an administrative enquiry presupposes enquiry into circumstances in which a public servant has a reason for not acting as expected by provisions of SC/ST Act of 1989 or whether willfully neglected duties assigned to public servant by SC/ST Act of 1989.

JUDGMENT :

S.V.N. BHATTI, J.

1. The instant Criminal Appeal has been tagged and taken up for hearing along with Criminal Appeal No. 348 of 2021 for the circumstances examined in both the Appeals are same. But for convenience, separate judgments are delivered.

2. On 29.04.2018, the respondent lodged a complaint before the Station House Office, P.S. Fatehpur Beri, New Delhi (for short, “the SHO”). The complaint dated 29.04.2018 narrates alleged offences under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short, “the Act of 1989”) against Preeti Agarwalla, Anush Agarwalla, Shikha Mundkur, Amir Pasrich, Shivani Pasrich and Ameera Pasrich (Appellant Nos. 1 to 6, respectively, in Criminal Appeal No. 348 of 2021). On 09.05.2018, the respondent filed an application under section 156(3), read with section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, “the CrPC”), before the Ld. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, South Saket Court, to direct registration of an FIR on the complaint dated 29.04.2018.

2.1 The Respondent, on 25.05.2018, filed a Criminal Miscellaneous Application under sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Act of 1989 before the Special Court of Shri Ajay Kumar Jain, Special Judge, New Delhi and is directed against the Special Commissioner of Police, Southern Range (for short, “Spl. CP”) etc. for registering an FIR and action as deemed just and proper, is taken in accordance with the Act of 1989. In effect and substance, the subject application deals with the alleged commissions and omissions by public servants in the discharge of the duties and functions under the Act of 1989. The miscellaneous application has been numbered as C.T. No. 536/2018. To wit, the respondent impleaded the Spl. CP, the SHO, P.S. Fatehpur Beri, and Shri Anurag Das, the Ld. Metropolitan Magistrate (South), Saket Court, New Delhi, as respondents in the application under Section 4 of the Act 1989 for initiating prosecution against them. The application alleges that the public servants neglected the duties and functions assigned to them by the Act of 1989, viz. register an FIR on the information lodged on 29.04.2018, investigate the allegations and take prompt and timely action, by keeping in perspective the scope and object of the Act of 1989. It would be apposite to refer to the allegations, without diminishing or diluting the grievance stated in C.T. No. 536/2018 by the sole respondent, against the public servants as precisely as possible for our consideration:

(i) The application alleges that the SHO and staff, allegedly influenced by Amir Pasrich, accused in the complaint dated 29.04.2018, refused to acknowledge the respondent’s complaint dated 29.04.2018. The multiple representations said to have been made by the respondent, to all the concerned, after the purported refusal to register the complaint are stated in the application. During the proceedings, the Metropolitan Magistrate vide order dated 22.05.2018 instructed the SHO to submit an Action Taken Report, scheduling the next date of hearing of the application filed under section 156(3) of the CrPC for 19.07.2018. The respondent, after being dissatisfied with the next date of the hearing, applied for an urgent hearing. On 24.05.2018, the respondent was heard, but the Metropolitan Magistrate dismissed the request for dasti. The respondent, then, filed the application under section 4 for the registration of an FIR against the public servants.

(ii) Vide order dated 05.06.2018, the Ld. ASJ, Special Judge, Saket, disposed of the respondent’s application under section 4 of the Act of 1989. The ASJ observed that in substance, the respondent's grievance was that the Metropolitan Magistrate did not order the registration of FIR and refused to prepone the matter for filing the Action Taken Report. In this background, it is noticed, that a judicial remedy cannot be sought against the Spl. CP and SHO, P.S. Fatehpur Beri, since they are not judicial officers. The respondent, agg