Point of Law: Court can implead Bank as a co-accused or additional accused by invoking Section 319 of Cr.P.C.

ORDER :

This petition is filed by the petitioner-first informant under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India to direct the I Additional CMM Bengaluru to take cognizance against the body corporates i.e., State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank in C.C.No.11073/2018 for the offences punishable under Sections 120B, 403, 408, 409, 447, 381, 420 read with Section 37 of IPC.

2. Heard the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner and learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State.

3. The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner is the first informant who filed a complaint against the accused persons for the offences punishable under Sections 120(B), 408, 409, 420, 468, 471, 474, 36, 37 of IPC and FIR was registered in Crime No.486/2015 by the Ashoknagar Police Station, Bengaluru making various allegations against the Bank Officers and Officials of the SBI and Punjab National Bank for misappropriation of fund and cheating the complainant. The matter was referred to the CID police for investigation and the respondent-CID police filed the charge-sheet against the officials of the above said two Banks. But the Investigating Officer while filing the final report has not included the Bank as accused, but filed the charge-sheet only against the Bank Officials where petitioner is before this Court for issuing direction to the trial Court to take cognizance against the Bank officials together with the Bank.

4. The Learned Senior counsel for the petitioner has contended that the offence was committed by the corporate bodies namely the State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank. Therefore, in order to proceed with them, the body corporate is required to be made as accused otherwise, the bank officials cannot be convicted without making Bank as accused. Therefore, learned Senior counsel submits that the trial Court can direct the Police Officer to make further investigation and to make additional charge-sheet and also to take the cognizance against the Corporate body i.e., the Banks.

5. The learned Senior counsel further submits that though the Investigating Officer submitted the final report under Section 173(2) of Cr.P.C., but, the Investigating Officer not intimated or communicated about filing of the final report to the informant as per Section 173(2)(ii) of Cr.P.C. Therefore, it is necessary for the informant to approach this Court for impleading the corporate bodies as accused and necessary direction shall be issued to the Investigating Officers to comply the provision under Section 173(2)(ii) of Cr.P.C.

6. Per contra, learned High Court Government Pleader submits that the learned Magistrate can take the cognizance even during the trial by invoking Section 319 of Cr.P.C. or 305 of Cr.P.C. Therefore prayed for dismissing the petition.

7. Having heard the arguments and on perusal of the records, the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Bhagawant Singh v. Commissioner of Police and another reported in (1985) 2 SCC 537. The Hon'ble Supreme Court at Paragraph Nos.3 and 4 as held as under:

"3. It will be seen from the provisions to which we have referred in the preceding paragraph that when an informant lodges the first information report with the officer-in-charge of a police station, he does not fade away with the lodging of the first information report. He is very much concerned with what action is initiated by the officer-in-charge of the police station on the basis of the first information report lodged by him. No sooner he lodges the first information report, a copy of it has to be supplied to him, free of cost, under subsection (2) of Section 154. If, notwithstanding the first information report, the officer-in-charge of a police station decides not to investigate the case on the view that there is no sufficient ground for entering on an investigation, he is required under sub-section (2) of Section 157 to notify to the informant the fact