S.S.SANDHAWALIA, J.

1. Can a Magistrate, even after accepting the final report filed by the police, still take cognizance of an offence upon a complaint or a protest petition on the same or similar allegations of fact? Is the somewhat tangled common question of law in this set of four cases necessitating this reference to the Division Bench.

2. As is manifest, the issue aforesaid being pristinely legal facts would pale into relative insignificance. These may, therefore, be noticed with relative brevity from Criminal Misc. No.4865 of 1980 Munilal Thakur V/s. Naval Kishore Thakur. A first information report alleging offences under Ss.448, 323 and 436 of the Penal Code was recorded against the petitioners in Police station section. After investigation, the police submitted a final report to the court of the Magistrate on 27th March 1979 with an endorsement that the case was false. It is however common ground that much earlier a protest petition has been filed by the informant complainant on 8th Dec. 1978 in the court. After the receipt of the final report, the learned Magistrate accepted the same on 3rd Jan. 1980. Later however, the informant complainant was examined on solemn