MD. MOINUL HAQUE Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short but interesting question of law involved in this criminal revision is whether the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (M), Rangia ("SDJM" for short) has correctly exercised his jurisdiction in accepting the final report submitted by the police ("FR") on the ground of lack of evidence and in simultaneously taking cognizance of the offence on the basis of the protest petition filed by the informant which does not contain facts constituting an offence and thereafter examining the informant/respondent (respondent 2) and his witnesses U/s 200 CrPC?

(2.) The facts of the case, as projected by the respondent No. 2, are that on 20-5-2010 at about 7 o'clock, the respondent 2 filed a complaint before the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rangia ("SDJM") alleging that on 8-5-2010, while her husband and her family members were not at home, the petitioners, armed with daos, dagger, lathis, entered her house and warned her and her mother-in-law that they would be evicted from the house unless they left the same. On their refusal to leave the house, the petitioners started to break things kept in the house by throwing them here and there, take cash money and other things and thereafter set on fire the house by pouring petrol. When they could sense that things were turning dangerous, the respondent No. 2 and her mother-in-law took shelter at the house of Jalal Ali. According to the respondent 2, the petitioners in the process burned down four houses, furnitures and the gifts worth Rs. 40 lakhs from her father at the time of her marriage, razed to the ground the remaining walls of the pucca house and burned down the toilet, bathroom, etc. of the house. The petitioners also prevented the Fire Brigade from extinguishing the fire and forced them to return to their station. On receipt of the complaint, the learned SDJM forwarded the same to the Officer-in-Charge of Rangia Police Station ("the OC" for short) for registering a case and investigate the same. The OC thereafter registered a regular case being Rangia PS Case No. 208/2010 U/s 436/395/397/120-B/143/304/506/511 IPC on 23-5-2010.

(3.) After investigation, the police, however, returned case in the form of a Final Report bearing No. 274, dated 29-9-2010 and submitted the same before the learned SDJM on 9-9-2011 along with the case dairy. The learned SDJM thereafter issued notice upon the informant/respondent to appear before him on 19-9-2011 and registered the police case as G.R. No. 440/2010. The respondent duly appeared before the learned SDJM on the appointed date and filed her protest petition bearing No. 804/2011 with the following words: