IMPORTANT POINT
The court affirmed that a Magistrate can direct police investigation under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. even after taking cognizance of an offense, emphasizing the need for thorough inquiry into allegations.

ORDER :

The order dated 09.07.2019 in C.M.P.No.583/2018 on the files of Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Chottanikkara is under challenge in this petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C at the instance of the person arraigned as accused Nos.11 and 14 in the aforesaid C.M.P. The learned Magistrate, by the impugned order, had forwarded the above C.M.P to the S.H.O of Police, Ambalamedu for the registration of F.I.R and report.

2. The allegations against the petitioners herein in the complaint filed as C.M.P.No.583/2018 before the learned Magistrate, in conspectus, are as follows:

The petitioner/complainant in that C.M.P is a devotee of late Swami Sudheendra Theertha, the devotional Guru of Gauda Saraswata Brahmin community, and the supreme head of Kashi Math. Accused Nos.1 to 7 and Accused Nos.10 to 16, who are associated with the above community, conspired with Accused Nos.8 and 9 who are respectively the Managing Director of Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai and a Doctor of the said hospital who treated Swami Sudheendra Theertha, to commit murder of the above said Swami, and got the said Swami discharged from that hospital on 16.01.2016 at a time when the physical and mental condition of the said Swami were totally deplorable. Swami Sudheendra Theertha, who was aged 90, was admitted in that hospital in the month of December, 2015, and he was undergoing treatment there for multiple ailments including age related issues. At about 06:30 a.m on 16.01.2016, the said Swami was discharged from that hospital in accordance with the conspiracy of the accused, and airlifted to Dehradun. Thereafter, by about 01:30 p.m on the same day, the said Swami was taken to Kashi Math at Haridwar by road at a time when his condition was extremely worse. On 17.01.2016, at about 01:30 a.m, a formal declaration was made by the second accused that Shrimad Sudheendra Theertha Swami attained samadhi at 01:30 a.m. The accused were fully aware of the fact that the above said Swami would not survive if he was discharged from the hospital in that condition and taken to Haridwar where there was a bitter cold climate of extreme winter. The accused did not care to take the said Swami to a hospital at Haridwar with the deliberate intention to ensure his death. The conspiracy to execute the murder of Sudheendra Theertha Swami, was hatched at the Kashi Math Ashram at Ambalamedu in Ernakulam District. After the death of the Swami, his body was placed in ‘Padmasana’ and consecrated at the Haridwar Ashram. All the above acts were pre-planned and executed by the accused to accomplish their vested interests. Though complaints were preferred before the police about the above criminal acts committed by the accused, they did not take any action due to the influence of the accused. Hence, a complaint was filed before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Chottanikkara as C.M.P.No.937/2016, which is pending enquiry before the said Court. Therefore, it is highly necessary that the complaint has to be forwarded to the Police under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C for investigation and report.

3. The complaint in the above regard was initially posted along with C.M.P.No.937/2016 pending enquiry under section 202 Cr.P.C. before the learned Magistrate in respect of the same incident. The learned Magistrate, instead of sending C.M.P.No.937/2016 to the police under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C, had proceeded with the case in accordance with Chapter XV of the Code of Criminal Procedure. At the time of filing of C.M.P.No.583/2018, the complainant in C.M.P.No.937/2016 and one witness (who is none other than the complainant in C.M.P.No.583/2018, himself) were already examined on oath, and the relevant medical records were summoned from Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai. It was in the meanwhile that the first witness in C.M.P.No.937/2016 had filed C.M.P.No.583/2018 in respect of the same incident with a request to direct the police to register a crime and to commence investigation upon the allegation of murd