TMI Blog1979 (9) TMI 197X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ay be proceeded against under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate on receipt of this report made a cryptic order directing the report to be forwarded to the officer-in-charge of police station having jurisdiction in the area to take legal action . On receipt of this report with the direction of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate the police officer, Jamtara registered an offence and commenced investigation and on completion thereof submitted a report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('Code' for short), to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate who had directed investigation in the matter. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate took cognizance of the offence on this report and transferred the case for disposal to Shri A. K. Sinha, Munsif Magistrate, First Class. The Munsif Magistrate recorded evidence of PW 1 Mahesh Kant Jha and on perusal of the evidence he was of the opinion that appellants 2 and 3 were also involved in the commission of the offence and took cognizance against them and directed the trial to commence de novo in presence of all the three appellants. The appellants thereupon moved the High Court under Section 482 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion the police officer shall submit a report to the magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence on a police report. This report has to be in the prescribed form and the details to be mentioned in the report are specified in Section 173(2). While submitting this report in connection with the offence to which Section 170 of the Code applies meaning thereby that a case in which such investigating officer has found sufficient evidence for a trial to be held by the court, it is incumbent upon such officer to forward to the magistrate along with his report (a) all documents or relevant extracts thereof on which the prosecution proposes to rely other than those already sent to the Magistrate during investigation; and (b) the statements recorded under Section 161 of all the persons whom the prosecution proposes to examine as its witnesses. 6. Section 190 provides for cognizance of an offence magistrate. The magistrate as described in Section 190(1) may take cognizance of any offence in three different manners; (a) upon receiving a complaint of facts which constitute such offence; (b) upon a police report of such facts; (c) upon information received from any person other than ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion 252 or Section 251-A of the Code, as the case may be. If such police report would provide sufficient compliance with Section 11 even though at the relevant time the offence punishable under the Act were not declared cognizable it was contended that it may nonetheless be at best a complaint under Section 190(1)(a) and in that event the magistrate taking cognizance of the offence under Section 190(1)(a) of the Code will have to proceed to try the offence according to procedure prescribed under Section 252. On the other hand it was contended that where the police officer was investigating into allegations of facts constituting some cognizable and some non-cognizable offence the report submitted by such officer would be under Section 190(1)(b) and the magistrate taking cognizance of the offence on such report would be so doing under Section 190(1)(b) and the case would have to be tried according to the procedure prescribed in Section 251-A. This Court held that the police officer is a public servant and this was not denied. The requirements of Section 11 are, therefore, satisfied though Section 11 does not make the report, if filed by a police officer, a chargesheet. It was also ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cumstances of the case; (d) whether any offence appears to have been committed and, if so, by whom (e) whether the accused has been arrested; (f) whether he has been released on his bond and, if so, whether with or without sureties; and (g) whether he has been forwarded in custody under Section 170. Sub-section (5) of Section 173 makes it obligatory upon the police officer to forward along with the report all documents or relevant extracts thereof on which the prosecution proposes to rely and the statement recorded under Section 161 of all the persons whom the prosecution proposes to examine as witnesses at the trial. 10. Section 173(2) thus provides what the report in the prescribed form should contain. In this case the report did contain the name of the accused and the nature of the offence. In fact Section 170 provides that if upon an investigating under Chapter XII it appears to the officer-in-charge of the police station that there is sufficient evidence or reasonable ground to proceed against the accused such officer shall forward the accused custody to a magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence upon a police report etc. If the accused is on bail that fact wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e cognizance of the case (see Bhagwati Saran v. State of U. P. ((1961) 3 SCR 563, 577 AIR 1961 SC 928 (1961) 2 Cri LJ 24)). It was, however, contended that this Court in Deo Karan Das Aggarwal case (Criminal Appeal No. 38 of 1968, decided on November 26, 1968) has in terms held that one has merely to look at the police report described as charge-sheet and to no other document for taking cognizance of an offence under Section 190(1)(b) to ascertain whether any offence was disclosed. The proposition canvassed on behalf of the appellant is not borne out by the decision relied upon. In that case the accused was prosecuted for having conducted business in a commodity governed by the Bihar Edible Oils Wholesale Dealers Licensing Order, 1965 without obtaining a licence thereunder. On a motion for quashing the prosecution it was found that the only allegation in the charge-sheet was that the accused carried on business in edible oils without obtaining a requisite licence. On the facts found it transpired that the accused had already applied for a licence and had paid necessary charges and carried on business in the bona fide belief that they had sufficiently complied with the requirements ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re was sufficient evidence to proceed against Satya Narain Musadi appellant 1 herein under Section 7 of the Act. Maybe that the charge-sheet could have been more informative or the information set out in the charge sheet could be styled as scanty. Some more details may have been helpful. It, however, could not be said that it did not disclose an offence of which the magistrate could take cognizance under Section 190(1)(b). Ultimately when a magistrate looks at police report also styled as charge-sheet under Section 190(1)(b) he takes cognizance upon a police report and prima facie he does so of the offence or offences set out in the report (vide Darshan Singh Ram Kishan v. State of Maharashtra ((1972) 1 SCR 571, 574)). And the report under discussion does disclose an offence under Section 7 of the Act. 13. It thus appears that the police report submitted under Section 173(3) after the information received from Mahesh Kant Jha by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate was forwarded to police officer-in-charge of the police station for investigation disclosed sufficient information for the Sub-Divisional Magistrate to take cognizance of the offence alleged against the accused and to procee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
