N K KANTHARAJU Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C., the petitioner has sought for quashing the entire proceedings in C.C. No.7455/2007 on the file of the 6 th ACMM, Bangalore, inter alia on the grounds that the entire Investigation carried on by the Investigating Officer in respect of non-cognizable offence without obtaining necessary permission from the jurisdictional Magistrate as required by sub-section (2) of Section 155 of Cr.P.C., is without jurisdiction and the learned Magistrate could not have taken cognizance of the offence on the basis of the charge sheet filed pursuant to such Investigation carried without jurisdiction.

(2.) THE 2nd respondent-M. Samson Rajaprakash filed a complaint before the Ulsoor Gate Police Station on 02.01.2007 inter alia alleging that at about 11.00am. on 02.01.2007, when he was trying to park his scooter within the compound of City Civil Court at Bangalore, the petitioner herein objected for the same and threatened him with injuries on the ground that he has filed Criminal Revision Petition against him, thereby he has committed the offence. On the basis of the said complaint, the PSI, Ulsoor Gate Police Station, registered the case in Crime No.2/2007 for the offence punishable under Section 506 of IPC and after completing Investigation, he laid the charge sheet for the said offence. As per the first schedule dealing with classification of offences attached to Cr.P.C., the offence of criminal intimidation punishable under Section 506 of IPC is a non-cognizable and bailable offence triable by any Magistrate. Section 155 of Cr.P.C. deals with information as to the non-cognizable cases and Investigation in such cases. According to sub-section (1) of Section 155 Cr.P.C., when information as to commission of non-cognizable offence is given, the officer incharge of police station shall enter or cause to be entered the substance of the information in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf, and refer the informant to the Magistrate. According to sub-section (2) of Section 155 of Cr.P.C., no police officer shall investigate the non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial. Thus, no police officer has jurisdiction to take Investigate a non-cognizable offence without obtaining permission of the jurisdictional Magistrate.

(3.) IN the case of SIDDANAGOUDA VS. STATE OF KARNATAKA reported in 1998 Crl.L.J 2162, again this Court has reiterated this position of law and has held that the INvestigation made into non-cognizable offence without permission of the competent Magistrate, as contemplated by Section 155(2) of Cr.P.C., is illegal and subsequent permission of competent Magistrate obtained does not validate the illegal INvestigation.