Tapan Kumar Mondal Vs State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

Tapan Kumar Mondal Vs State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty granted to the petitioner to file an application under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Magistrate to peruse materials and exercise discretion per law); complaint against public servants identified as a separate cause of action addressable, if the petitioner so chooses, through an application under Section 175(4) of the BNSS at the learned Magistrate's discretion; affidavit of service and the State's report kept with the record; case diary returned to the learned advocate for the State; no order as to costs.

Issue for consideration

Whether the investigating authority complied with the co-ordinate Bench's earlier direction (in WPA 2364 of 2024) to record the victim's statement under Section 164 CrPC before submitting the final report. +1 more

Court's answer

The case diary handed over by the learned Additional Government Pleader reflected that the statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had been recorded on 11 March 2024 by the learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Court, Tamluk, Purba Medinipur, in connection with Tamluk P.S. Case No.87 of 2024 dated 01.02.2024.

Ratio / Principle

On conclusion of investigation, the police authorities submitted their report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thereby discharging all the accused persons, with the report contending that the complainant had been duly informed about the result of the investigation.

Key takeaways

The petitioner was granted liberty to file an application under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.ratio¶13
If such an application under Section 173(8) CrPC is filed, the learned Magistrate would peruse the materials and thereafter exercise his discretion in accordance with law.ratio¶13
The petitioner's complaint against the public servants was held to constitute a separate cause of action.ratio

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

W.P.A.25486 of 2024 (disposed of 20.11.2024; Tirthankar Ghosh, J.). Responding to an earlier co-ordinate Bench order in WPA 2364 of 2024 that had directed the investigating authority to record the victim's statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before submission of the report in final form, this Court examined the case diary handed over by the learned Additional Government Pleader and noted that the Section 164 statement had in fact been recorded on 11 March 2024 by the learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Court, Tamluk, Purba Medinipur, in connection with Tamluk P.S. Case No.87 of 2024 dated 01.02.2024. The Court further noted that on conclusion of investigation the police authorities submitted their report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thereby discharging all the accused persons, the report contending that the complainant had been duly informed of the result of the investigation. As counsel for the petitioner submitted that no notice had been received affording an opportunity to ventilate grievances before the jurisdictional court, the Court granted the petitioner liberty to file an application under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, leaving it to the learned Magistrate to peruse the materials and thereafter exercise his discretion in accordance with law. The Court additionally held that the petitioner's complaint against the public servants was a separate cause of action; should he prefer an application under Section 175(4) of the BNSS, the learned Magistrate was to consider the compliances required under the law and exercise his own discretion. WPA 25486 of 2024 was accordingly disposed of, with no order as to costs; the affidavit of service and the State's report were kept with the record and the case diary returned.

D/L79 20.11.2024 Bpg. ct.no.35

W.P.A.25486 of 2024

Tapan Kumar Mondal Versus The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee Mr. Sirsendu Sinha Roy Mr. Supreem Naskar Ms. Jayashree Patra Ms. Ritushree Banerjee Ms. Pritha Sinha

Mr. Bhaskar Mondal ...for the petitioner.

Mr. K.J. Yusuf Ms. Munmun Ganguly. …for the State-respondents.

Affidavit of service filed by the petitioner be kept with the record.

Petitioner has drawn the attention of the Court to the earlier order passed in WPA 2364 of 2024 wherein the co-ordinate Bench of this Court was pleased to direct that before submission of the report in final form, the investigating authority would record the statement of the victim under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The case diary has been handed over by the learned Additional Government Pleader which reflects that the statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was recorded on 11^th March, 2024 by the learned Judicial Magistrate, 1^st Court,

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Tamluk, Purba Medinipur in connection with Tamluk P.S. Case No.87 of 2024 dated 01.02.2024. The police authorities thereafter on conclusion of investigation submitted their report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thereby discharging all the accused persons and it is contended in the report that the complainant has been duly informed about the result of the investigation of the case.

Mr. Chatterjee, learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that till date he has not received any notice to ventilate his grievance before the jurisdictional court.

Petitioner is granted liberty to file an application under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If such application is filed, learned Magistrate would peruse the materials and thereafter exercise his discretion in accordance with law.

Petitioner claims that he has complained against the public servants for his act and action. The same is a separate cause of action. If the petitioner intends to prefer any application under Section 175(4) of the BNSS, in such circumstances, the learned Magistrate would consider the compliances required under the law and exercise his own discretion.

3

With the aforesaid observations, WPA 25486

of 2024 is disposed of.

There will be no order as to costs.

Report so submitted by the learned advocate appearing for the State be kept with the record.

Case diary be returned to the learned advocate appearing for the State.

All parties shall act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

Urgent photostat certified copies of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all requisite formalities.

(Tirthankar Ghosh, J.)