A Kalandra under Section 182 IPC cannot be initiated by an inferior officer; it must be filed by the concerned public servant or a superior officer as mandated by Section 195 of the Code.

JUDGMENT

Pankaj Jain, J. (Oral)

Present petition has been filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking quashing of the Kalandra under Section 182 of the Indian Penal Code (Annexure P-6).

2. While assailing the Kalandra, counsel for the petitioner submits that complaint was in fact presented to the Superintendent of Police, Bhiwani whereas the Kalandra has been presented by SHO concerned. Reliance is being placed upon the provisions as contained under Section 195 of the Code to submit that the Kalandra could have been presented either by the public servant concerned or the authority/officer superior to him. In the present case, the concerned public servant is Superintendent of Police to whom the complaint was presented. SHO being neither the concerned public servant nor superior to him Kalandra cannot survive.

3. The said fact has not been disputed by the counsel for the respondent. However, the action initiating Kalandra is being defended on the ground that the allegations levelled in the complaint at the behest of the petitioner were found to be false.

4. Having heard rival contentions of the parties the question that arises for consideration of this Court is that: 'when the principal FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint made to Superintendent of Police, Bhiwani whether presentation of Kalandra qua offence punishable under Section 182 IPC on the ground that the said complaint was false can be maintained by Station House Officer in the light of provisions as contained under Section 195 of the Code?'.

5. In order to appreciate the arguments raised by counsel for the parties it will be apposite to peruse Section 195 of the Code which reads as under:

"195. Prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of public servants, for offences against public justice and for offences relating to documents given in evidence. (1) No Court shall take cognizance -

(a)(i) of any offence punishable under sections 172 to 188 (both inclusive) of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), or

(ii)of any abetment of, or attempt to commit, such offence, or

(iii)of any criminal conspiracy to commit such offence, except on the complaint in writing of the public servant concerned or other public servant to whom he is administratively subordinate;

(b)(i) of any offence punishable under any of the following sections of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), namely, sections 193 to 196 (both inclusive), 199, 200, 205 to 211 (both inclusive) and 228, when such offence is alleged to have been committed in, or in relation to, any proceeding in any Court, or

(ii) of any offence described in section 463, or punishable under section 471, section 475 or section 476 of the said Code, when such offence is alleged to have been committed in respect of a document produced or given in evidence in a proceeding in any Court, or

(iii) of any criminal conspiracy to commit, or attempt to commit, or the abetment of, any offence specified in sub-clause (i) or sub-clause (ii),

[except on the complaint in writing of that Court or by such officer of the Court as that Court may authorise in writing in this behalf, or of some other Court to which that Court is subordinate.]

(2) Where a complaint has been made by a public servant under clause (a) of sub-section (1) any authority to which he is administratively subordinate may order the withdrawal of the complaint and send a copy of such order to the Court; and upon its receipt by the Court, no further proceedings shall be taken on the complaint :

Provided that no such withdrawal shall be ordered if the trial in the Court of first instance has been concluded.

(3) In clause (b) of sub-section (1), the term "Court" means a Civil, Revenue or Criminal Court and includes a Tribunal constituted by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, if declared by that Act to be a Court for the purposes of this section.

(4) For the purposes of clause (b) of sub-section (1), a Court shall be deemed to be subordinate to the Court to which appeals ordinarily lie from th