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2024 Supreme(Raj) 1305

FARJAND ALI
Teja Ram – Appellant
Versus
State of Rajasthan – Respondent


Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner:Mr. HS Shrimali, Advocate.
For the Respondent: Mr. Abhishek Purohit, AGA.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Here are the key points from the provided legal document:

  1. The court emphasizes that victims have the right to be informed about the outcomes of investigations concerning allegations against them and to be heard, ensuring adherence to natural justice principles. [judgement_subject]

  2. Procedural errors were identified in the handling of the case, particularly regarding the submission of a negative final report under the POCSO Act in a case involving allegations of sexual offences. The victim was deprived of the opportunity to protest against the findings, which is against the principles of natural justice. [paras 3, 4, 5, 8]

  3. The case involved an FIR lodged for serious offences, but the investigation resulted in a negative report, which was improperly submitted to a court not empowered to take cognizance of offences under the POCSO Act. This procedural irregularity impacted the victim's right to be heard. [paras 2, 3]

  4. The court highlighted that the victim or complainant has the right to protest against a negative final report, which can be treated as a criminal complaint, and the court has the authority to order further investigation or take cognizance based on such protests. [paras 4, 5]

  5. Proper communication of investigation results to the victim is mandated, especially when a negative report is filed, to uphold principles of natural justice and ensure the victim's right to be informed and to make representations. [para 5]

  6. The jurisdictional and procedural requirements under the POCSO Act were not properly followed. The investigation and reporting should have been directed to a Special Court with the authority to handle POCSO offences, and the report should have been submitted accordingly. [paras 6, 7]

  7. The court found that the magistrate failed to independently assess the case and did not provide the victim an opportunity to be heard before taking cognizance, which constitutes a legal error. The order passed by the magistrate to proceed was therefore set aside. [paras 8]

  8. The order of the court was to quash the magistrate’s order to take cognizance of the offence and to direct the police to send the report to the appropriate Special Court for POCSO cases. The victim must be given an opportunity to be heard once the proper proceedings are initiated. [para 9]

  9. To prevent future procedural lapses, the court ordered that police authorities be instructed to forward final reports involving POCSO offences to the appropriate Special Court, ensuring compliance with procedural requirements and safeguarding victims' rights. [para 10]

  10. The accused shall remain on bail, and the existing bail orders are maintained. The case should proceed with proper legal procedures once the investigation report is appropriately filed and the victim is given the opportunity to be heard. [para 9]

Please let me know if you need further analysis or specific legal advice based on this document.


ORDER :

Farjand Ali, J.

The instant Criminal Writ Petition has been preferred on behalf of the complainant/victim of a case seeking indulgence of this Court for issuance of certain directions to the police officials concerned to conduct further investigation in the matter.

2. Bereft of elaborate details, briefly stated the facts of the case are that an FIR got lodged at the instance of the petitioner herein for an offence of gang rape, kidnapping, illegal confinement punishable under Section 376(D), 365, 342 & 34 of the IPC as well as the offence of penetrative sexual assault punishable under Section 3/4 of the POCSO Act. The matter was investigated by the police, however, after investigation, to a large extent, the offence was not found proved. It was the opinion of the Investigating Officer that only the offence under Section 363 of the IPC and 84 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, was found against Mahendra Bishnoi and Ashok Bishnoi and accordingly, a report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. came to be submitted in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class.

3. While going through the niceties of the matter, a serious deformity and processual error has been no

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