SHARAD KUMAR SUMAN Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the parties.

(2.) This Criminal Miscellaneous Petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 with the prayer to quash the order dtd. 16/9/2021 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Sahibganj in Criminal Revision No.31 of 2020 whereby and where under the learned Sessions Judge, Sahibganj rejected the Criminal Revision Application filed by the petitioner against the order dtd. 3/10/2020 passed by the learned Railway Judicial Magistrate, Sahibganj in connection with Sahibganj (T) P.S. Case No.108 of 2020.

(3.) The brief fact of the case is that Sahibganj (T) P.S. Case No.108 of 2020 was registered involving the offences punishable under Sec. 379/411 of the Indian Penal Code. On the prayer made by the Inspector- R.P.F. Post, Sahibganj the case was transferred to the court of Railway Judicial Magistrate, Sahibganj by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sahibganj. On 3/10/2020 a petition was filed by the Inspector Incharge, R.P.F. Post, Sahibganj praying for an order upon the Town Police Station for releasing the seized railway properties and for handing over the case file of Sahibganj (T) P.S. Case No.108 of 2020 to R.P.F. The learned Railway Judicial Magistrate, Sahibganj considered that the F.I.R. has been registered by the Sahibganj Town Police Station and investigation is going on. No separate complaint petition has been filed by the R.P.F. It also considered the settled principle of law that R.P.F. not being police but only a force, has no jurisdiction to investigate any F.I.R. It then considered the settled law that R.P.F. cannot investigate and file a police report. R.P.F. can only file complaint and it is authorized to conduct inquiry. After inquiry, R.P.F. can submit 'Prosecution Report' as opposed to police report. Thus, the R.P.F. has not been vested with the power to investigate any case. The learned Railway Judicial Magistrate, Sahibganj considered that it does not have any jurisdiction over the local limits of Sahibganj Town Police Station. The learned Railway Judicial Magistrate also considered that the Railway Judicial Magistrate has no jurisdiction under Chapter XIII of Code of Criminal Procedure, so, the Railway Judicial Magistrate, Sahibganj was not the proper forum to claim release of the case from the Sahibganj Town Police Station. The Railway Judicial Magistrate considered that there is no mandate of the legislature for vesting power upon any Judicial Magistrate to either stop or transfer the investigation. Hence, it rejected the prayer to hand over the case file of Sahibganj (T) P.S. Case No.108 of 2020 to the R.P.F.