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Showing contexts for: section 468 of criminal procedure code in Dinesh Chander Sharma vs K.K. Pant on 3 January, 2020Matching Fragments
ANALYSIS AND REASONING
12. The allegations of the imputation of reputation of the complainant relate to the letter dated May 1, 2000. The Petitioner had filed the complaint on Dec 7, 2000, seeking prosecution of the Deputy Commissioner, for defamation, after a decade of the incident, that allegedly led to such defamation. Section 468 CrPC mandates that no Court shall take cognizance after the lapse of the period of limitation and specified in Section 468 (2)(c) that the limitation period is three years for the offence where the maximum sentence does not exceed three years. In the present case, the offence attributed is punishable under Section 500 IPC, which prescribes the maximum sentence of two years. Given the above limitation for filing of the complaint was three years from the date of the commission of the offence. Resultantly, the limitation would have .
14. The petitioner faulted on two counts:
Firstly, if the complaint was barred by limitation, then it was incumbent upon him to seek an extension of time by filing a separate application under Section 473 CrPC, which he did not; and Secondly, the explanation he has offered is that for the first time he came to know about the offence on Mar 27, 2009, he is misreading the provisions of Section 468 CrPC.
15. Under Section 468 CrPC, the limitation to take cognizance of an offence does not start from the date of knowledge of such offence to the complainant or the informant, but from the time the offence took place. Sub-clause (2) of Section 468 is very specific that the period of limitation shall be for six months, one year or three years, .
depending upon the offence. There is no exception that the period of limitation shall extend until the date of the knowledge of such offence. If the Legislature intended to extend the period of limitation in Section 468 CrPC itself, then it would have specifically mentioned the limitation period from the date of knowledge. However, instead of specifying the words "from the date of knowledge," the Legislature chose to incorporate a separate provision in the shape of Section 473 CrPC, providing for a period of limitation. Given above, the period of limitation would commence not from the date of knowledge of an offence but from the time of the commission of the offence.