The Magistrate can take cognizance of a case independently of the conclusion arrived at by the investigating officer, based on the facts emerging from the investigation, as per the provisions of Sections 190 and 319 of the CrPC.

JUDGMENT :

Ajay Kumar Gupta, J.

1. This instant Criminal Revisional application has been filed by the petitioners challenging the correctness, legality and propriety of an order dated 6th January, 2022 passed by the Court of Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nadia at Ranaghat in connection with G.R. No. 609/2018 arising out of Taherpur Police Station Case No. 64/2018 dated 19th April, 2018 under Sections 447/341/326/307/302/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 thereby the learned Magistrate took cognizance against the present petitioners though they are not charge-sheeted in the police report.

2. The factual matrix of the instant case leading to filing of this application is as under:

2a. A written complaint was lodged by Subhasis Biswas before the officer-in-charge, Taherpur Police Station on 19th April, 2018 resulted in registration of an FIR being Taherpur Police Station Case No. 64/2018 dated 19th April, 2018 under Sections 447/341/326/307/302/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 against several accused persons including the present petitioners. The investigation of the case has been finally culminated by filing charge sheet against Surajit Mondal and seven others and not charge sheeted against other 9 accused persons including the present petitioners. De-facto complainant being the opposite party no. 2 herein filed a protest petition (Narazi Petition) on 26th July, 2018 against the alleged mechanical and perfunctory charge-sheet and further prayed for further investigation.

2b. The said protest petition was taken up for hearing together with consideration of charge-sheet on 6th January, 2022. After hearing the parties, the learned Court below rejected the prayer of the de-facto complainant for further investigation. However, cognizance has been taken against all 17 accused persons including the present petitioners although the investigating officer has sought for discharging of the present petitioners along with others as no sufficient materials collected during investigation against them. Be that as it may, the learned Magistrate also rejected the prayer of investigating officer to discharge the petitioners and finally took cognizance against all of them and issued process for their appearance on the next date.

2c. Feeling aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the impugned order of taking cognizance on 6th January, 2022 by the learned Magistrate though no material found against them during investigation, the present petitioners herein have filed this revisional application praying for setting aside the impugned order on the ground that the learned Court below could not take cognizance when there are no sufficient materials collected during the investigation and they have not been charge-sheeted by the investigating officer.

Under such circumstances, the instant revisional application has come up before this Court for disposal.

SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONERS:

3. Learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the Petitioners contended that the learned Court below erred in law in taking cognizance against the present petitioners though they have not been charge-sheeted. The Investigating Officer has prayed for discharge of these petitioners as no sufficient materials found against them during the investigation. When there are no materials against the present petitioners then learned Magistrate should not have been taken cognizance against the present petitioners rather the petitioners herein ought to have been discharged from the case.

4. It is further submitted that there is a provision of Section 319 of the CrPC that the Court may proceed against such persons for any offence when they appear to have committed in course of any enquiry into, or trial of, and offence, if it appears from the evidence that the persons have committed any offence for which such persons may try together with other accused persons and the stage of applying such provision under Section 319 of the CrPC starts from the stage of trial to at any stage till