In response to a petition to quash a FIR filed through a private complaint brought before a magistrate, the Supreme Court ruled that an executive magistrate cannot issue an order to police for registration of a FIR under the code of criminal procedure.
However, if a complaint is filed with a magistrate in a case that falls under his jurisdiction, the magistrate can record the complaint and even conduct the investigation himself, added the apex court.
In registering the FIR, the magistrate has limited authority. They can issue an order to investigate the particular case, but they are not allowed to file a FIR if the case is not within their jurisdiction. First, the victim should go to the police station to file a report.
If the responsible police officer refuses to file a FIR, the complainant may appeal to the superintendent of police under section 154(3) of the Cr.P.C.
While hearing a case a bench of Justices R.F. Nariman and Navin Sinha dismiss the order of Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court which did not quash the FIR registered on the order of sub-Divisional Magistrate against a private college.
On January 31, 2018, a student filed a private complaint against Naman Pratap Singh's college, alleging that she was cheated into getting admission to the SDM of Unnao, Uttar Pradesh.
After referencing numerous provisions of the Cr.P.C. the bench concluded that the magistrate has no authority to force the police to file the case before him. The court ruled that using such power for the magistrate is prohibited under Section 156(3) of the CrPC.
According to the court, the FIR was filed against the law and without jurisdiction, and so needed to be invalidated. The apex court said, the student should file a complaint with the police officer, and if the officer refuses to register the complaint, the student should approach the Superintendent of Police.