Cognizance And Committal Of Case By Magistrate Under Cr.P.C.: The Law and Relevant Case Laws

The article has been published by Ms. Renuka Bhalerao, 3^rd year, B.Com., LL. B student from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun. She is currently interning with LatestLaws.com. 

Introduction:

Cognizance in the literal sense means ‘to become aware of’, but when used regarding a Court or a Magistrate, it means to take ‘judicial notice of an offence’. It refers to the initial stage in a criminal proceeding, where a Magistrate takes notice of an offence and decides to initiate legal proceedings.  

Legislative and Judicial Framework for Cognizance:

Multiple sections in the Cr.P.C. outline the conditions under which a Magistrate can take cognizance of an offence and commit a case to a higher court. Section 190[1] of the Cr.P.C. lays down the conditions under which a Magistrate can take cognizance of an offence based on a complaint or a police report. Section 190 provides power to the magistrate of first class and any magistrate of the second class, as specially empowered by Chief Judicial Magistrate, to take cognisance of the case either upon receiving a complaint, based on a police report or upon information received from a third person, other than a police officer, who has the knowledge of offence having been committed. However, Section 201[2] lays down the procedure when the magistrate is not competent to take cognisance of the case. 

In the case of Darshan Singh Ram Kishan v. State of Maharashtra[3], it was expounded by the court that taking cognizance does not involve any formal action or action of any kind. Commission takes place as soon as the magistrate applies his mind to the suspected commission of an offence. Thus, cognizance takes place at a point when a magistrate first takes judicial notice of an offence.

In another case of Nirmaljit Singh Hoon v. State of West Bengal[4] , it was held that it is well settled that before a Magistrate can be said to have taken cognizance of an offence under Section 190(1)(a) of the Cr.P.C., he must have not only applied his mind to the contents of the complaint presented before him but must have done so to proceed under Section 200 and the provisions following that section. Where, however, he applies his mind only for ordering an investigation under Section 156(3) or issues a warrant for the arrest of the accused, he cannot be said to have taken cognizance of the offence.

Legislative and Judicial Framework for Committal:

Committal refers to the process of forwarding a case from a Magistrate to a higher Court for trial. This typically occurs when the Magistrate finds that there is sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against the accused and that the case should be tried by a higher court. Where after taking cognizance, it appears to the Magistrate that the case is exclusively triable by the Court of Session, then he commits the same to the Court of Session. It is only after commitment that the Sessions Court can take cognizance under Section 193. 

Section 209[5] of the Cr.P.C. lays down the conditions under which a Magistrate can commit a case to a Sessions Court for trial. The section states that when an accused person has appeared before the magistrate, whether upon a police report or otherwise, and the Magistrate concludes that the offence should be tried or is triable exclusively by a court of session, then the magistrate can commit the case to such court after complying with the provision of section 207[6] or 208[7]Cr.P.C. 

If the case is filed based upon a police report then the magistrate will have to comply with the procedure under section 207, which provides a list of documents that should be provided to the accused person (such as a police report, FIR copy, statement of accused under section 161, etc.). 

On the other hand, if the case is instituted otherwise than by a police report, then compliance with section 208 is necessary before committing the case. Section 208 mentions documents like a statement to a magistrate under section 200[8] or 202[9], a statement under section 16[10], or any other document that shall be provided free of cost to the accused person. 

Under section 209 the magistrate has to apply his/her mind before concluding that the matter is triable by Court of session and the section provides for commitment of cases before cognizance is taken by the magistrate, however, on the other hand, section 323[11] provides for commitment of cases at any stage of the proceedings before signing of the judgment by the magistrate, if it appears to the magistrate that the case is ought to be tried by a court of session. This section is also called post-cognizance committal of cases. 

The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Raj Kishore Prasad v. State of Bihar[12] opined that at the stage of section 209, the Court is neither at the stage of enquiry nor the stage of the trial, there is no judicial application of mind and the magistrate is only required to commit the case to be heard by the Court of the session.  

In another case of Sanjay Gandhi v. UOI[13], it was propounded that where an offence is triable by the Sessions Court exclusively, the magistrate who commits the case has no power to discharge the accused or to take any oral evidence by the parties, and it is not open for the committal court to look into the question that whether any prima facie case has been made or not. 

Conclusion:

The word ‘Cognizance’ is not defined in the Criminal Procedure Code. It means applying the Judicial mind in a suspected commission of the offence. Chapter XIV of Cr.P.C. deals with ‘Conditions Requisite for initiation of proceeding’ and Chapter XV of Cr.P.C. deals with ‘Complaints to Magistrates’. In India, the Code of Criminal Procedure lays down the procedures for cognizance of offences. Cognizance will be said to have been taken only when there is a prima facie case i.e. examination at this stage will be whether the matter presented in the case is sufficient enough to take further proceedings under the procedural law.

There is no other provision regarding committal in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. When the committal can only be under Section 209 Cr.P.C., the Magistrate is empowered to commit the case to the Court of Session only and not to any other court. Under Section 209 Cr.P.C., the Magistrate must commit the case to the Court of Session, when it appears to him that the offence involved is exclusively triable by a Court of Session.

Picture Source :