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Ramswarup Soni v. The State of Madhya Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 614 of 2019, arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 814 of 2019)Decided 8 Apr 2019
Criminal Appeal No. 614 of 2019, arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 814 of 2019
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice Indu Malhotra

Background

A complaint against the appellant, Ramswarup Soni, had led to a criminal case being registered under Sections 326 and 294 IPC and Section 3(1) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. After investigation, the police filed a final (closure) report under Section 173(2) CrPC stating no offence was made out against the appellant. The complainant objected to the closure report, and the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vidisha (M.P.), rejected the closure report and directed the police to file a charge-sheet against the appellant instead, a decision that was ultimately challenged before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that when a police final report says no offence is made out, a Magistrate reviewing it is confined to three recognised courses of action: accept the report and close proceedings, reject it and take cognizance on the material already gathered, or direct further investigation if dissatisfied: a judicial choice that must fall squarely within one of these three options. The Court found that the Magistrate's order directing the police to straightaway file a charge-sheet under IPC Sections 326 and 294 and under the SC/ST Act did not properly fit any of these three permissible courses and was therefore not sustainable. Accordingly, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the Magistrate's order, and remanded the matter back to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vidisha, for fresh consideration and a proper order in accordance with law.

Lesson Learnt

A magistrate deciding what to do with a police closure report cannot simply order a charge-sheet to be filed on their own initiative: the law gives the magistrate only three defined options (accept the closure report, reject it and take cognizance, or order further investigation), and any order falling outside these categories is liable to be set aside.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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