Allahabad High Court: a Magistrate may treat an FIR plea as a complaint case if the complainant already has the evidence

Deciding an application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (the provision replacing Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench (Justice Brij Raj Singh) upheld a Magistrate's decision to treat a woman's application for FIR registration, over an alleged molestation, as a complaint case under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure instead of directing the police to register an FIR. The applicant had approached the police repeatedly without a First Information Report being registered, before invoking Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (the provision replacing Section 156(3) of the Code), which allows a Magistrate to direct police investigation.

The Court held that whether to direct an FIR or instead proceed as a complaint case is a fact-specific choice for the Magistrate: where the complainant already possesses the full case details and material evidence, so that a police investigation is not essential, treating the plea as a complaint case is proper; where evidence such as CCTV footage or the accused's identity still needs to be investigated by police, an FIR must be registered. The Court relied on the Supreme Court's rulings in Lalita Kumari v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Om Prakash Ambadkar v. State of Maharashtra, and directed the order be circulated to subordinate courts across the State for compliance.