Abdul Majid v. State by Belthangadi Police Station
Case brief
What is this about?
The High Court of Karnataka allowed a petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash criminal proceedings against eleven petitioners. The charge sheet invoked Section 188 IPC, but the court held that Section 195(1)(a) Cr.P.C. bars cognizance of such offences except upon a written complaint by the public servant concerned or a superior. Since the FIR was based on a complaint from the Tahsildar, not the officer who promulgated the prohibitory order, and the other charged offences arose from the same transaction, the entire proceedings — FIR, charge sheet, and cognizance order — were quashed, following a coordinate bench decision in W.P. No. 13328/2018.
What did the court decide?
The entire proceedings in C.C.No.523/2023 pending before the Court of Prl. Civil Judge & JMFC, Belthangady, arising out of Crime No.21/2022 registered by Belthangady Police Station, for offences under Sections 143, 188 read with 149 IPC and Sections 34, 36, 107, 109 of Karnataka Police Act, are quashed.