A Special Judge can treat an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. as a complaint if it discloses a cognizable offense and no police investigation is needed, according to established legal principles.

JUDGMENT :

Nalin Kumar Srivastava, J.

1. This criminal appeal under Section 14-A (1) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (in short 'the SC/ST Act') has been preferred by the appellant - Lalit Kumar challenging the order dated 23.09.2024 passed by the Special Judge (SC/ST Act) / Additional Session Judge, Ballia in Criminal Misc. Case No.130 of 2024 (Lalit Kumar Vs. Kaushal Kumar Singh, Advocate and others), Police Station Kotwali, District Ballia whereby the application moved by the appellant under section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. was ordered to be registered as a complaint case.

2. Heard Sri Maha Prasad, learned counsel for the appellant, Sri Kameshwar Singh, learned counsel for the opposite party nos.2 to 6 as well as the learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the entire record.

3. It is submitted by learned counsel for the appellant that he had moved an application under section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. for lodging of the F.I.R. against the accused persons but the learned trial court by passing an illegal order committed gross mistake and ordered the said application to be treated as complaint case. It is also submitted that the appellant belongs to the weaker section of the society and is a member of SC/ST community. The opposite party nos.2 to 6 are also advocate along with the appellant in the District Court at Ballia but they are very powerful and influential persons and always use to threaten the appellant. On 1.3.2024 at about 12:00 Noon, the appellant saw the opposite parties making assault upon the librarian Shivji Singh, who is an employee in Criminal & Revenue Bar Association, Ballia and when he himself protested the same they hurled abuses by caste related remarks and also made assault upon him by kicks and fists and in the meanwhile, on exhortation of opposite party no.2, the opposite party no.3 kicked him over his chest and he sustained serious injuries. The incident was recorded in the CCTV camera. The matter was reported to the police station and he was medically examined but the police subsequently did not lodge the F.I.R. and when an application was moved to the senior police officials and other authorities on 6.3.2024, the S.H.O., P.S. Kotwali called him and pressurized to make compromise with the opposite parties and refused to lodge his F.I.R. Ultimately an application under section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. alongwith the medical papers, the copy of the application given to the S.P., Ballia and other relevant documents was moved to the court but the learned court declined to pass an order for the registration of the F.I.R. The learned Special Judge completely ignored the fact that the appellant was not capable of collecting the evidence of CCTV footage and other relevant evidence and expressed its view that since the appellant is fully acquainted with the opposite parties and no serious injuries were found in the supplementary medical report, the matter was not of such kind that required an F.I.R. to be registered. It is further submitted that the impugned order has been passed in an arbitrary manner ignoring the settled legal principles for the disposal of an application under section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. There is illegality and perversity in the said order and the same is liable to be quashed by this Hon'ble Court.

4. Per contra, learned counsel for the opposite party nos. 2 to 6 as well as learned A.G.A. opposed the appeal.

5. The core issue involved in this matter is that whether a Special Judge has power to treat the application under section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. as a complaint and secondly if