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Madras High Court

R.A.Titas Athithan vs Sivaram on 20 March, 2017

                                                                             Crl.R.C.(MD)No.435 of 2017

                            BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
                                              RESERVED ON :     29.06.2021
                                              DELIVERED ON : 01.10.2021
                                                        CORAM
                        THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE SATHI KUMAR SUKUMARA KURUP
                                               Crl.R.C.(MD)No.435 of 2017

                  R.A.Titas Athithan
                  S/o. Anthonymuthu Nadar                                          : Petitioner


                                                          Vs.

                  1. Sivaram
                  2. Saravanan
                  3. Rajendran
                  4. Edwin Brit Joesh                                              : Respondents

                  PRAYER: Criminal Revision filed under Sections 397 and 401 of Criminal
                  Procedure Code, to admit this revision on file, to call for the records from the
                  lower Court and to duly set aside the judgment passed by the Judicial
                  Magistrate, Sankarankoil, Tirunelveli District in Crl.M.P.No.1283 of 2017
                  dated 20.03.2017.


                            For Petitioner          : Mr.P.T.Thiraviam
                            For Respondents         : Mr.R.J.Karthick for R2
                                                      Mr.P.Mahendran for R3
                                                      R-1 and R-4 -No Appearance
                                                           ***




https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/                       ORDER

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                            This Criminal Revision has been filed to set aside the judgment passed

                  by the Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankoil, Tirunelveli District in Crl.M.P.No.

                  1283 of 2017 dated 20.03.2017.



                            2.Heard, Mr.P.T.Thiraviam, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner,

                  Mr.R.J.Karthick, learned counsel appearing for the second respondent and

                  Mr.P.Mahendran, learned counsel appearing for the third respondent.



                            3.The Revision Petitioner lodged a complaint to the Inspector of Police,

                  Sankarankovil Town Police Station against the Accused/Respondents alleging

                  that they have scolded him in filthy language and also assaulted while

                  questioning about the disconnection of water connection given illegally to one

                  Marimuthu. The Police did not take any action against the Accused Persons.

                  Therefore, the Revision Petitioner filed a Petition before the learned Judicial

                  Magistrate, Sankarankovil in Crl.M.P.No.1283 of 2017. The learned Judicial

                  Magistrate, on assessment of sworn statement, had dismissed the Petition.



                            4.Aggrieved by the dismissal order of the learned Judicial Magistrate,

                  Sankarankovil, the Petitioner filed this Revision Petition before this Court.


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                            5.The learned counsel for the Revision Petitioner submitted that the

                  orders passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankovil in Crl.M.P.No.

                  1283 of 2017, dated 20.03.2017 is perverse. Therefore, the Revision has to be

                  allowed and the learned Judicial Magistrate is to be directed to pass

                  appropriate order.



                            6.Point for Consideration:

                                         Whether the order passed by the learned
                                   Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankovil in dismissing the
                                   Crl.M.P.No.1283 of 2017, dated 20.03.2017, is
                                   perverse warranting interference by this Court?



                            7.Perused the order of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankovil in

                  Crl.M.P.No.1283 of 2017 dated 20.03.2017 and the grounds of the revision

                  filed by the Revision Petitioner.



                            8.The arguments of the learned Counsel for the Revision Petitioner that

                  the orders passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankovil in

                  Crl.M.P.No.1283 of 2017 dated 20.03.2017 is perverse.               Therefore, the

                  revision has to be allowed. The learned Judicial Magistrate is to be directed to

                  pass appropriate orders, is found unacceptable and unreasonable considering

                  the well-reasoned order of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankovil.
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                            9.The learned Judicial Magistrate had relied on the judgment of the

                  Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Lalita Kumari vs. Government of Uttar

                  Pradesh and Others-IV [(2014) 2 SCC 1] and also the petition filed by the

                  petitioner in Crl.O.P.(MD).No.21652 of 2016 in which the Petitioner herein

                  had obtained favourable orders against the Inspector of Polcie, Sankarankovil

                  Town Police Station/Respondent in the said Criminal Original Petition, for the

                  very same occurrence in which this Court had directed the Inspector of Police,

                  Sankarankovil Town Police Station, to register the case and investigate the

                  case. Accordingly, the Police had investigated and found that the allegations

                  made in the complaint by the Petitioner therein was found to be fictitious.

                  Therefore, the case was closed by the Police. Further, the learned Judicial

                  Magistrate had relied on the ruling of this Court reported in 2016-2-L.W.

                  (Crl.)499 in the case of Sugesan Transport Pvt. Ltd., Vs. The Assistant

                  Commissioner of Police, in which this Court had given guidelines to the

                  person who is aggrieved. When the Police are reluctant to take the complaint

                  on file and register the case, the aggrieved party shall give a complaint through

                  registered post or directly to the Superintendent of Police in the District or

                  Commissioner of Police in the City and has to wait for their action. Still, if

                  action is not taken, they can invoke the powers of the Court by approaching

                  the Court of the learned Magistrate concerned.          If the aggrieved party
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                  approaches the Court of the learned Judicial Magistrate, he/she can give the

                  complaint orally or in writing. As per the said guidelines, if the said complaint

                  is given to the learned Magistrate, he/she shall state the facts that earlier

                  complaint to the police was not taken on file.          Therefore, he/she had

                  approached the Superintendent of Police of the District concerned. There, no

                  action was initiated.     Therefore, he/she had approached the Court of the

                  learned Judicial Magistrate after having exhausted all the remedy available,

                  with private complaint.



                            10.In this case, the petitioner had not mentioned whether he had

                  preferred complaint to the Superintendent of Police after the Sankarankovil

                  Town Police refused to initiate action. Further, in the sworn statement, he had

                  mentioned that Sankarankovil Town Police had taken the complaint and issued

                  CSR receipt. That shows the Police had taken action after CSR receipts are

                  issued and they conducted preliminary enquiry. If the allegations made in the

                  complaint are found reasonable and true, then they would have registered the

                  case. Also, the learned Judicial Magistrate in his order stated that as per the

                  guidelines issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Lalita Kumari

                  vs. Government of Uttar Pradesh and Others-IV [(2014) 2 SCC 1] before

                  registering the case, the police are within their power to conduct preliminary

                  enquiries in non-cognizable cases.      Before approaching the Court with a
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                  private complaint, the aggrieved party, as complainant, shall furnish the

                  closure report regarding the earlier complaint and the action taken by the

                  Police.



                            11.In this case, the Petitioner had not mentioned about the closure of

                  the case by the Police after obtaining the favourable orders through directions

                  from the Hon'ble High Court in Crl.O.P.(MD).No.21652 of 2016. Therefore,

                  the learned Judicial Magistrate felt that the Petitioner herein had suppressed

                  the fact of closure report by the Police. It had not been mentioned in the

                  petition and affidavit filed before the learned Judicial Magistrate,

                  Sankarankovil. The learned Magistrate felt that the petitioner had not followed

                  the guidelines issued in the reported rulings of this Court in 2016-2-L.W.

                  (Crl.)499 in the case of Sugesan Transport Pvt. Ltd., Vs. The Assistant

                  Commissioner of Police. Therefore, he had dismissed the complaint filed

                  under Section 156 (3) of Cr.P.C. Since the order is found well-reasoned order

                  as per the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Lalitha Kumari and as per

                  the Ruling of this Court in 2016-2-L.W.(Crl.)499 in the case of Sugesan

                  Transport Pvt. Ltd., Vs. The Assistant Commissioner of Police, the order of

                  the learned Magistrate is not found perverse warranting interference by this

                  Court.           Therefore, the point for consideration is answered against the

                  petitioner.         However, the petitioner is within his rights to move private
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                  complaint under Section 200 Cr.P.C., before the learned Judicial Magistrate

                  concerned.



                            In the result, this Criminal Revision is dismissed. The order passed by

                  the Judicial Magistrate, Sankarankoil, Tenkasi Ditrict in Crl.M.P.No.1283 of

                  2017 dated 20.03.2017 is confirmed.



                                                                                          01.10.2021

                  Index: Yes/No

                  dh

                  To

                  1. The Judicial Magistrate,
                     Sankarankoil, Tirunelveli District.

                  2. The Additional Public Prosecutor,
                     Madurai Bench of Madras High Court,
                     Madurai.




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                                                     Crl.R.C.(MD)No.435 of 2017

                                   SATHI KUMAR SUKUMARA KURUP, J.

dh Pre-delivery judgment made in Crl.R.C.(MD)No.435 of 2017 01.10.2021 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/ 8/8