When a complaint reveals the commission of a cognizable offence, the Magistrate is obligated to send the complaint to the Police Station for registration of the FIR, as per the legal position established by the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari's case.

ORDER

1. By way of the instant miscellaneous petition, challenge has been made to the order dated 07.08.2021 passed by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dudu, District Jaipur. In a complaint's report filed by complainant, the petitioner Mathura Devi made a prayer to send the complaint under Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C. for lodging the FIR and connecting the investigation.

2. Heard, perused the material available on record.

3. It is revealing that the petitioner Mathura Devi had preferred a complaint before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dudu, District Jaipur, alleging therein that on 29.07.2021, the accused person barged into her house and outraged her modesty, she was manhandled and subjected to abusive language. The allegations of skirmishing, threatening and beating through kicks were also levelled therein. A bare perusal of the report discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the prayer was made by the complainant to send the matter for registration of the FIR. It is also mentioned in the complaint that she had sent report of the incident to the Superintendent of Police, Jaipur (Rural) but no heed has been paid by him.

4. Learned counsel submits that instead of sending the matter to the Police for registering the FIR and conducting investigation, the learned Magistrate opted to record the statement of the complainant, which was not warranted by the law as the bare perusal of the report, itself discloses commission of a cognizable offence.

5. Learned counsel drew attention of this Court towards the statement of the complainant recorded under Section 200 of the Cr.P.C., wherein, she has categorically alleged regarding commission of a cognizable offence. He submits that compact disk was also produced before the Court as a piece of evidence. However, the learned Magistrate, instead of sending it to the Police under Section 156 of Cr.P.C. initiated an enquiry under Section 200 of Cr.P.C., which is a blatant disregard of the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (2012) 4 SCC 1, as well as of the mandate of Section 154 of the Cr.P.C.

6. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor and have gone through the report sent to the Superintendent of Police, the complaint made to the Judicial Magistrate, the allegations made therein supported with affidavit, the statement of the complainant recorded under Section 200 of Cr.P.C. and the order dated 07.08.2021 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate.

7. It is well settled that the reliability, truthfulness or the genuineness of the allegations made in the report / complaint is a task to be undertaken during the course of the investigation.

8. Whenever, a complaint / report is moved before the Judicial Magistrate with the prayer to send the same to the Police for registration of the FIR and investigation, if a bare perusal of the complaint / report reveals commission of a cognizable offence, the Judicial Magistrate was left with no other option but to send the same to the Police Station for registration of the FIR. In this matter as is observed earlier a perusal of the complaint reveals commission of a cognizable offence thus action taken and the order passed by the learned Magistrate is dehors to the legal position and in blatant disregard of the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari's case, therefore, the action taken by the Magistrate and the order passed by him, whereby, the inquiry was initiated and the matter was sent under Section 200 of Cr.P.C. to the Police is hereby quashed and set aside and it is directed that the Magistrate shall send the complaint to the Police Station concerned for registration of the FIR. Since the allegations therein are made against the Police Officers of Police Station Dudu, therefore it is directed that the Superintendent of Police, Jaipur (Rural) shall entrust the investigation to an Officer not below the rank of Additional S.P..