J&K High Court has ruled that registration of FIR is mandatory if a compliant discloses commission of cognizable offence.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar said that it is mandatory under section 154 CrPC to register an FIR and no preliminary enquiry is permissible in such situation. “This is a general rule and must be strictly complied with.”
Disposing of a writ petition by one Sher Ahmad Khan, the court directed the SHO Police Station Kralpora to register the FIR on the basis of complaint received by him from Khan.
Khan through advocate T A Lone had petitioned court seeking directions for registration of an FIR against some persons who were allegedly trying to grab his land and had trespassed into his house attacking him and his family.
“From perusal of the allegations made in the petition and the written complaint stated to have been lodged by the petitioner before the police authorities and Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Kralpora, cognizable offences stand disclosed,” the court said.
The court said “not only the police authorities . . . even the Judicial Magistrate has taken the matter casually”.
“Forwarding the complaint of the petitioner to SHO . . . with the remark that necessary action under law may be taken, is not what is expected of a Judicial Magistrate,” the court said.
The court held that when a complaint disclosing commission of cognizable offence is laid down before a Judicial Magistrate, it is his bounden duty to ask Incharge of the Police Station concerned to investigate the case.