PROJECT REPORT

ON

Submitted to: Submitted by:

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all I express my sincere gratitude to the Almighty

God for his divine grace and I saw His footprints, every time when I
looked behind. It gives me immense pleasure to acknowledge my
indebtedness and deep sense of gratitude to my respected teacher
Mrs. Anju Chaudhary. Without her scholarly guidance,
sympathetic and encouraging attitude, it would not have
been possible for me to complete this study. His keen
interest in this work gave inspiration and generated
confidence in me to complete this work. I owe to him
because of his creative suggestions concerning the problem,
checking the manuscripts thoroughly and many instructive
discussion at all stages of this work.
I am also thankful to my friends who helped me while getting
information from internet, and the staff members of library of Punjab
University, Chandigarh.

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INTRODUCTION

Complaint means any allegation made orally or in writing to a

Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under the Code of Criminal
Procedure that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an
offence, but it does not include a police report. [Section 2 (d)]

To constitute a complaint there must be an allegation made with a view

to the recipient taking action under the Code, charging some person with a
particular offence. A mere presentation of petition to a Magistrate to enable
him to take administrative action is not a complaint within the terms of the
definition.

It must be presented to him with a view to his taking action under the
Criminal Procedure Code. A complaint need not necessarily be made by the
person aggrieved but may be made by any person aware of the offence1.

Its essentials:

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

1
Dr. Paranjape, N.V., Code of Criminal Procedure, Central Law Publishers, Allahabad.

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 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.

(b) A complaint need not necessarily be made by the person injured

but may be made by any person aware of the offence. In case of
the defiance of general law, any person, whether he has suffered
any particular injury or not has a right to complain. The court
will, therefore, take cognizance of the above complaint.2

A detailed procedure for filing criminal complaints has been laid down
in India, as per the Criminal Procedure Code. The following steps will clear
any doubts you may have over filing a criminal complaint in India:

1. Filing an FIR

In case you are the victim of a cognizable offence, the first step you
would take is to approach the police. The police, on receiving information,
prepares a written document, known as a First Information Report (FIR). The
duty of the police lies in hearing the aggrieved and directing him to the District
Magistrate for further action. An FIR can be filed by you if you are the person
against whom the crime has been committed or know about an offence that has
been committed. There are no charges for filing an FIR, it being a crucial
document that sets the criminal justice system in process.3

It is illegal to not register an FIR. The remedies available are:

2
Ibid.
3
Kelkaer, R.V., Criminal Procedure Code, EBC, Lucknow, 2007 (Revised by K.N.C. Pillai)

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1. You can meet the Superintendent of Police or other higher officers like
Deputy Inspector General of Police & Inspector General of Police and
bring your complaint to their notice.

2. You can send your complaint in writing and by post to the

Superintendent of Police concerned. If the Superintendent of Police is
satisfied with your complaint, he shall either investigate the case himself
or order an investigation to be made.

3. You can file a private complaint before the court having jurisdiction.

4. You can also make a complaint to the State Human Rights Commission
or the National Human Rights Commission if the police does nothing to
enforce the law or does it in a biased and corrupt manner4.

The police conducts investigation, which may include arrests. Once the
investigation has been concluded the police will record all their findings in a
Challanï or charge sheet. If it is deemed that there is enough proof on the
charge sheet the case goes to court.On the flipside, after their investigations if
the police conclude that there is not enough evidence or proof that a crime has
been committed they can close the case after justifying their reasons in court. If
the police decide to close the case, they are bound to inform the person who
filed the FIR of their decision.

A zero FIR is used for crimes such as murder,rape etc. where immediate
investigation is required and time cannot be wasted in reaching the police
station under whose jurisdiction the crime falls. The main idea of a Zero FIR is
to initiate the investigation or urge the police to take their initial action. Once
you have lodged a Zero FIR, make sure that your complaint is not transferred to
the appropriate police station in your jurisdiction without any initial action or
investigation.A zero FIR is necessary for crimes where immediate action is
required,eg in case of murder,rape etc, or when the police station under whose

4
Ibid.

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jurisdiction the crime was committed is not easily accessible, eg in case of
crimes while travelling.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT: THE PLAINT

It is a document submitted by the complainant to file a criminal

complainant against an accused. In layman’s language, it is simply the written
allegations of the complainant and it contains a summary of the facts of the
case he seeks to present and the relief he seeks for the same.

If you are filing a plaint, you are the ‘plaintiff’ and the person whom you
are filing against, is the ‘defendant’. There are certain regulations set by the
‘Limitation Act,1963’ for filing of plaints.

For instance, there is a time limit within which the plant should be filed, and it
differs for different courts.

The Plaint, as per the Act, should be filed within 90 days in High court
and within 30 days from the date of the crime that is being appealed against5.

The details required to be mentioned in the plaint are:

A. The name of the court

B. The nature of the complaint

C. The name and addresses of both the parties.

All of this is normally typed in English, with double-line spacing.

It is also important to remember that it has to be filed within a certain

time limit of the occurrence of the act in question as prescribed by the
Limitation Act. A plaint filed after an unreasonable delay will not be
entertained in the court of law. It should also contain verification from the
complainant with an assurance that all facts stated in the plaint are correct and
true to his knowledge.

5
Mishra, S.N., Criminal Procedure Code , CLP, Allahabad, 20054

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 As the plaint procedure is simple, and if you have enough proof in hand,
you can file them with the help of an expert in no time.6

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT: VAKALATNAMA

This document is submitted by the complainant authorizing an advocate

to argue the case on his behalf. Although an individual can file their
Vakalatnama, the terms used are highly technical for a layman to understand,
and respond in case of queries. Hence, a vakalatnama is a document that gives
the advocate (who is appearing on your behalf) the authorization to fight for
justice, and handle all court procedures on your behalf.

It contains the terms and conditions of this authorization, and lists out
the rights of the advocate. The terms and conditions, mentioned in the
Vakalatnama include7:

1. The advocate will not be held responsible for any decisions taken by
him/her during the course of an investigation, in the best interests of the
clients.

2. The advocate will be paid the requisite fees as well as the fees for the
court proceedings.

3. The advocate can be disengaged at any time during the proceedings, if

the client wishes, and so on.

The basic idea of a Vakalatnama is to engage a lawyer to fight for the

case in the court, and to provide him the authorization to do it with the
permission of the plaintiff.

The vakalatnama is affixed with the plaint and submitted to the court by the
advocate authorized to represent the case.

6
Ibid.
7
Ratan Lal, R., & Dhirajlal, K.T., Criminal Procedure Code, Universal, Delhi, 1999

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Although no fees are paid for submission, some courts demand a stamp
‘Advocate Welfare Stamp’ to be pasted on it8.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT: COURT FEES

The plaints are required to pay the court fees, as per the rules and
regulations set by the Court fees Stamp Act.

The nominal court fee is then paid by the Complainant as required by

the Court Fees Stamp Act. The court fees usually amount to a nominal
percentage of the value of a claim or the suit being made in the case filed and
thus, differs depending upon the case.

The advocate authorized to carry on with the dealings of the case will be
able to instruct about the procedures and also the court fees to be paid.

EXAMINATION OF COMPLAINANT(SECTION 200 OF CrPC)

A Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence on complaint shall

examine upon oath the complainant and the witnesses present, if any, and
the substance of such examination shall be reduced to writing and shall be
signed by the complainant and the witnesses, and also by the Magistrate:
Provided that, when the complaint is made in writing, the Magistrate need not
examine the complainant and the witnesses-

(a) if a public servant acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his

official duties or aCourt has made the complainant; or9

(b) if the Magistrate makes over the case for inquiry or trial to another
Magistrate undersection 192: Provided further that if the Magistrate
makes over the case to another Magistrateunder section 192 after

8
Ibid.
9
Dr. Paranjape, N.V., Code of Criminal Procedure, Central Law Publishers, Allahabad.

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 examining the complainant and the witnesses, the latter Magistrateneed
not re-examine them

Section 200 lays down the preliminary procedure which a Magistrate

shall follow on receiving a complaint.10

Under this section it is obligatory to examine the complainant and the

witnesses and a summary dismissal without examining them is not legal. The
provisions of this section apply to cases when the Magistrates take cognizance
of an offence. The Magistrate should take the cognizance of the offence first
and thereafter proceed to examine the complainant and his witnesses on oath. It
is only after this stage that summons may be issued if necessary. The
Magistrate must give the complainant an opportunity to be heard in person or
through his pleader. An omission to examine the complainant and his witnesses
by the Magistrate as required by this section is a serious irregularity, as such
prejudice maybe caused to the accused.11

Having done so, he may order an inquiry under Section 202 or dismiss
the complaint under Section 203 if he finds that there are no sufficient grounds
to proceed with the case. In a significant decision handed down by the High
Court of Kerala in Pramod v.C.K. Velayudhan12, it has been held that Criminal
Court will not get any jurisdiction to proceed against a person at the mere sight
o the details on the docket sheet or the cause-title. No Court shall act upon the
sole tag, label or the badge veiled on the cause-title norshall it be carried away
by the prints and dots on the veil of cause-title. In other words, theCourt is
bound to unveil the complaint, feel the texture of its contents and test the
criminality because criminality lies not on how a person is Christianed at
the cause-title, but how he hasacted, as per the contents of the complaint.

Karnataka High Court in Durvasa v. Chandrakala13 , has held that non-

examination of complainant upon oath is a mere irregularity and does not

10
Badilal Panchal Vs Dattatreya, AIR 1960 SC 1113
11
Gurdial Singh Vs Abhey Dass, AIR 1967 Punj 244
12
2005 CriLJ 4572
13
1994 CriLJ 3765

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vitiate the proceedings under this section. Where the accused person himself
voluntarily appears before the Magistrate to answer a charge, his examination
on oath becomes immaterial. The High Court of Karnatakain V.S. Joshi v. N.G.
Bhat Chitrigi14 held that order issuing process could not be set aside merely
on hypothetical ground where the Magistrate after taking notice of accusations
made in complaint, had proceeded to record sworn statements of the
complainant and witnesses. This clearly showed that he had taken cognizance
of the offence.

There is difference of opinion about maintain of joint complaint under

this section 200 of the code. Madras, Calcutta and Kerala High Courts hold that
joint complaint is not permissible but Allahabad and Manipur High Courts
hold a contrary view. The High Court of Kerala took the view that the word
complainant‟ having been used in Section 200 in singular form clearly suggests
that a joint complaint by two or more complainants is not maintainable under
this section, but the Magistrate has the jurisdiction to treat the complaint as if
filed by one of the complainants at their option, and proceed with the case.
Since no such option was exercised by the complainant in the instant case,
cognizance taken by Magistrate was vitiated. Similar opinion has been
expressed by the High Court of Madras in Narayan Swami v. Egappa15 . But
the Allahabad High Court has taken a contrary view and held that applying the
provisions of Section 13 of the General Clauses Act, the word „complainant‟
would also include its plural form i.e. „complainants‟.

In Shakuntala Devi v. State of U.P.16, it has been held that in spite of

availability of Civil remedy, criminal case is not barred by Section 200, CrPC
as the two remedies are not mutually exclusive but they are clearly co-
extensive. The Court in this case observed that when a civil remedy is
available, filing of a criminal complaint is not automatically barred because
of the availability of that remedy and each case has to be decided on the

14
2006 CriLJ 1566
15
AIR 1962 Mad 443
16
2003 Cri. LJ 687

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basis of its peculiar facts and circumstances to find out whether on facts of the
case a criminal offence was made out or not. In criminal trial one of the
cardinal principle for the Court is to look for plausible explanation for the delay
in loading the complaint report.
Delay in filing complaint affords opportunity to the complainant to
make fabrication. Therefore, if there has been delay in either filing F.I.R.
before the Police or complaint before the Court, the Courts always view
allegations with suspicion and insist for satisfactory explanation for delay in
filing F.I.R./complaint. Mere statement by the complainant that police did
not take action is not a satisfactory explanation for justifying delay in filing
of the complaint before the Magistrate.

In Gurudas Balkrishna Vs Chief Judicial Magistrate Goa17, the

applicant filed a complaint on 31st July, 1992 but the Magistrate has not even
recorded his statement for verification of the complaint for several months. It
was held that verification under section 200 must be done as soon as
practicable. The words “at once” were deleted from section 200 were deleted
from section 200 because the legislature thought it fit that instead of giving a
mandate by words "at once" which would not be capable of any relaxation, it is
better to rely on the discretion of the Magistrate. But that does not permit the
Magistrate to delay the verification for months together. The court ordered the
Magistrate to record the evidence of complainant and witnesses, if any, within
a week from the date of its order.

17
1994 Cri. LJ 444 (Mah)

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Dr. Paranjape, N.V., Code of Criminal Procedure, Central Law Publishers,

Allahabad.
2. Kelkaer, R.V., Criminal Procedure Code, EBC, Lucknow, 2007 (Revised by
K.N.C. Pillai)
3. Mishra, S.N., Criminal Procedure Code , CLP, Allahabad, 20054.
4. Ratan Lal, R., & Dhirajlal, K.T., Criminal Procedure Code, Universal, Delhi, 1999

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bectorkartik@gmail.com

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