A Magistrate cannot register a subsequent complaint under Section 200 CrPC based on the same facts after a previous complaint has been quashed, as it exceeds jurisdiction.

ORDER :

(Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J.)

1. The issue involved in all these petitions are one and the same and therefore for the sake of brevity, they are being heard and decided together by this common order.

2. All these petitions have been filed under Section 482 CrPC by the petitioners/accused persons No.1&2 against the impugned order dated 06.09.2018 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mahasamund (in short, JMFC) in Criminal Complaint Case Nos. 1206/2018, 1207/2018 and 1212/2018 respectively whereby the JMFC, Mahasamund have registered the complaint case against the petitioners for the offence under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B IPC and issued process against them.

3. In all these petitions/complaint case, the complainant/respondent No.1 had initially moved an application under Section 156(3) CrPC before the trial court on 30.11.2012 alleging in it that certain lands have been given on lease to other respondents/accused persons which were not transferable without prior permission of the District Collector and it was only for agriculture purposes. The land was given to them in the year 1994-95. The concerned allottees of land, in connivance with present petitioners, shown in the revenue records as their ancestral land and not obtained in lease, sold it to various persons at different dates and thereby caused loss to the State. Since the persons in whose favour the land was given in lease were not owner of the land, no Rin Pustika could be issued in their favour, yet the present petitioners who were the then Tehsildar (Petitioner No.1) and Patwari (Petitioner No.2) have issued Rin Pustika showing that land was their ancestral land and after making necessary entries in Khasra and Kistbandi Khatauni, prepared forged document and in conspiracy with the person concerned, sold the land to others and got the sale deed executed. The complainant made a complaint to State Govt. on 13.12.2011 and in turn the matter was forwarded to Sub Divisional Magistrate (Revenue), Mahasamund (in short, SDM) who, after enquiry submitted its report on 02.06.2012 and found commission of offence and recommended for disciplinary proceeding against the petitioners. A complaint was also made to the police on 24.11.2012 and when no action was taken against the petitioners, they approached before the Superintendent of Police on 14.12.2012. Again no action was taken against the accused persons and therefore a complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC was filed on 30.11.2012 before the trial court by the respondent No.1/complainant.

4. The said complaint filed under Section 156(3) CrPC was considered by the JMFC, Mahasamund and vide its order dated 16.05.2014 directed the Station House Officer, Police Station, Komakhan, to register FIR and to investigate the matter. The said order dated 16.05.2014 was challenged by the respective accused persons before the Revisional Court and the Revisional Court dismissed their Criminal Revision and affirmed the order passed by the JMFC, Mahasamund.

5. The order passed by the trial court as well as Revisional Court was further put to challenge by the respective accused persons before this court by filing CrMP No.591 of 2014 and other batch of petitions. The said CrMP No.591 of 2014 and other connected matters came up for hearing before the coordinate Bench of this court, who, after hearing the parties, vide its order dated 02.05.2017 quashed the order passed by the JMFC, Mahasamund as well as Revisional Court. Consequently, the subsequent proceeding on the basis of order of JMFC Mahasamund were also quashed and the application filed by the complainant/respondent No.1 under Section 156(3) of CrPC was rejected.

6. After passing of the order dated 02.05.2017 by the coordinate Bench in CrMP No.591 of 2014 and other connected batch of petitions, the respondent No.1/complainant filed a complaint case under Section 200 CrPC before the JMFC, Mahasamund on 31.05.2017. After recording statement on oath of the complainant, the or