In Brief
The appellants were prosecuted based on an F.I.R. registered at the direction of a Sub-Divisional Magistrate after a private complainant filed a complaint before him. The Supreme Court held that an Executive Magistrate has no jurisdiction to direct police to register an F.I.R. based on a private complaint. Such registration is contrary to law and without jurisdiction. The Court explained that proper remedies available under the Criminal Procedure Code—filing F.I.R. directly with police, invoking Section 154(3), approaching a Magistrate under Section 156(3), or filing a complaint under Section 200—must be followed. The Court quashed the F.I.R. and allowed the appeal, leaving scope for the complainant to pursue appropriate legal remedies.
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