A files a petition in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate regarding the commission of an offence but makes no prayer for taking action against accused persons. Can this petition be treated as a complaint petition?

Question: A files a petition in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate regarding the commission of an offence but makes no prayer for taking action against accused persons. Can this petition be treated as a complaint petition?

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Answer

Section 2(d) in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 envisages the definition of a Complaint. It states that “complaint” means any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.

A complaint in a criminal case is what a plaint is in a civil case. It is one of the modes in which a Magistrate can take cognizance of an offence (Section 190). The requisites of a complaint are:

• an oral or a written allegation;
• that some person known or unknown has committed an offence;
• it must be made to a Magistrate and
• it must be made with the object that he should take action.

A petition addressed to a Magistrate, containing an allegation that an offence has been committed and ending with a prayer that the culprit be suitably dealt with, is a complaint. However, as given in the present case at hand where A files a petition in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate regarding the commission of an offence but makes no prayer for taking action against accused persons, it implies that the petition is not made with the object that action should be taken against the accused person. This is a mere intimation of information of the commission of an offence without the objective of action taking any action, so it will not be treated as a complaint petition.

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