Kaja Hussain vs State Of Kerala on 1 October, 2021
17. The decision in Ashkar (supra) does not come to the
rescue of the accused in the present case. Section 36A(1)(d) of
the Act states that, notwithstanding anything contained in the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, a Special Court may, upon
perusal of police report of the facts constituting an offence under
the Act or upon a complaint made by an officer of the Central
Government or a State Government authorised in this behalf,
take cognizance of that offence without the accused being
committed to it for trial. This provision makes it clear that a
Special Court may take cognizance of the offence on a police
report or on a complaint made by an officer of the Central
Crl.A.No.06/2020
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Government or State Government authorised by the said
Government to file the complaint. The provision does not
mandate that when a police report is filed before the Special
Court, the officer who files it shall be a person authorised by the
Central Government or the State Government. The condition
regarding authorisation of officers by the Government is
applicable only to complaints filed before the Special Court and
not to police reports. The notification referred to above deals only
with filing of complaints before the Special Court. The notification
is silent with regard to police reports. Ashkar was a case in
which complaint was filed by an excise officer who had no
authority to file it as he was not an officer authorised by the
Government, as per the notification above, to file a complaint
before the Special Court. In the present case, cognizance of the
offence was taken on the basis of police report and not on the
basis of any complaint. The decision in Ashkar is not applicable
to the present case.