What do you mean by a complaint under CrPC? Explain its essentials. State the procedure that a Magistrate shall follow when a complaint is made to him?

Question: What do you mean by a complaint under CrPC? Explain its essentials. State the procedure that a Magistrate shall follow when a complaint is made to him? [UPCJ 2016, MPHJS 2011]

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Answer

Section 2(d) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provides-

Complaint means any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.

Explanation – A report made by a police officer in a case which discloses, after investigation, the commission of a non-cognizable offence shall be deemed to be a complaint; and the police officer by whom such report is made shall be deemed to be the complainant.

The “complaint” may be by word of mouth or in writing; no prescribed form of words is necessary; all that is required is that facts, which prima facie constitute an offence, should be brought to the notice of the Magistrate by the complainant. It may be made even by post.

The term “complaint” will include allegations against either known or unknown persons. As a general rule, any person, having knowledge of the commission of an offence, may set the law in motion by a complaint, even though he is not personally interested or affected by the offence.

The main essentials of a complaint are:

1. The allegation must be made to a Magistrate and not to a judge. A police officer is not a Magistrate and as such a petition or information sent to him is not a complaint.
2. The allegation must be made with a view to the Magistrate’s taking action under the Code. A mere statement to a Magistrate by way of information without any intention of asking him to take action is not a complaint.
3. The allegation must be that an offence has been committed. It is not necessary that a particular offence be stated: only the allegation of fact must constitute an offence. The mention of a wrong section does not vitiate the character of a complaint. The complaint need not specify any offender or even the section of the law which makes the act or omission punishable.
4. The allegation must be made orally or in writing. It need not set out all the facts on which the accused is to be charged but must contain a statement of true facts relied on as constituting the offence in ordinary and concise language admitting of no ambiguity.

At the point when a witness moves toward the police specialists to advise about the commission of a cognizable offence, it is called recording a complaint. This data as a complaint, when enlisted, as per Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, turns into an FIR. As such, subsequently, the complaint is a phase preceding the FIR.

A Magistrate can take the insight of a complaint as indicated by Section 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. At the point when a Magistrate takes the insight of an (endless supply of a complaint or else), he looks at the complainant as per Section 200 by analyzing the realities and the observers.

In the event that he finds that the complaint is with merits, the case is esteemed dedicated for preliminary and the judge issues either the request or the warrant under Section 204. In the event that the offence is solely triable by the Court of Session, the Magistrate submits the case to the Court of Session under Section 209.

On account of an FIR, the offence included is of cognizable nature and accordingly, the police have got a position to start the examination in the said case without earlier authorization from the Magistrate and afterwards record a charge sheet.

Then again, when a Magistrate takes the perception of an offence based on a complaint, he arranges an examination of the issue and can likewise guide the police to hold up an FIR in the event that he feels that the offence is of a genuine sort.

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