The single judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that unless a petition filed under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is supported by an affidavit, the Judicial Magistrate, ought not to entertain the prayer under Section 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the present criminal miscellaneous petition was filed invoking the jurisdiction under Section 482 of the code of criminal procedure in order to quash the order passed by the judicial magistrate in which the magistrate referred the complaint under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to police under oral prayer of the learned counsel for the complainant even though the complaint was not supported by the affidavit.
Contentions of the Petitioner
The Petitioner contended that to avoid frivolous cases being instituted, the Judicial Magistrate, should not refer a petition under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. to the police for registration of the case unless an affidavit accompanies the petition. The court relied upon the judgments titled Priyanka Srivastava & Another vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Others, and Babu Venkatesh & Others vs. State of Karnataka & Another.
Observations of the Court
The Hon’ble Court. observed that it is well-settled law that unless a petition filed under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is supported by an affidavit, the Judicial Magistrate, ought not to entertain the prayer under Section 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C.
Based on these considerations, the court was of the opinion that the magistrate had committed a grave error in passing the order solely on the oral prayer of the learned counsel of the complainant. The court quashed and set aside the order passed by the learned magistrate.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court disposed of the Criminal Miscellaneous Petition.
Case title: Mahendra Prasad Yadav V. The State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary
Case No.: Cr.M.P. No.3591 of 2023
Advocates for the Petitioner: Mr. Ashim Kr. Sahani, Advocate Mr. Vikesh Kumar, Advocate
Advocate for the State: Ms. Ruby Pandey, Addl.P.P.
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