Police Can File New FIR On Same Allegations Already Presented To Magistrate: Rajasthan High Court.
The Rajasthan High Court clarified the scope of Section 233 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which aligns with Section 210 of the CrPC. It stated that police can file a new FIR for the same allegations, but the Magistrate must pause any ongoing proceedings related to the earlier complaint filed before the FIR was registered. The accused petitioners challenged an FIR against them under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Justice Arun Monga, in a Single-Judge Bench, noted that the procedure requires the Magistrate to halt further actions on the earlier complaint until the Investigating Officer completes their inquiry as outlined in Section 173 of the Code.
Senior Advocate Jagmal Singh Choudhary represented the petitioners, while PP Vikram Singh Rajpurohit represented the respondent. The complainant filed a case with the ACB in Ajmer against the then Chairman (petitioner No.1) of Gram Seva Sahkari Samiti Soodwad, the Chairperson (petitioner No.2), the Manager (petitioner No.9) of Gram Seva Sahkari Nimbola Biswa, and others, alleging serious corruption. They were accused of approving loans for family members using forged documents, despite those individuals not owning agricultural land. They also allegedly provided benefits from a government loan waiver scheme to these individuals.
Ram Chandra (petitioner No.1) and Manju Devi (petitioner No.2) submitted false affidavits and hid the fact that they had a third child, allowing Manju Devi to become the Chairperson of the society. An investigation revealed that the petitioners misused their authority and conspired with private individuals, resulting in those individuals receiving benefits from a loan waiver scheme. The petitioners were accused of causing a loss of Rs.8,24,383 to government funds. They claimed that two criminal cases had already been filed against them because in 2020, Manohar Lal (the brother of complainant Nainu Ram) had made a similar complaint. After Manohar Lal passed away, Nainu Ram took over as the complainant in that case.
The Bench observed that the challenge to the FIR was mainly based on the fact that the same allegations had already led to a previous complaint by the informant, which the Magistrate had acknowledged and was currently under trial. They referred to Section 233 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (similar to Section 210 of the Cr.P.C.), which outlines the procedure for handling cases with both a complaint and a police investigation for the same offense.
The review of the above clearly shows that even if a complaint has already started, police can still file a new FIR based on the same allegations. The only requirement is that the Magistrate must pause the earlier complaint proceedings until the investigation by the Investigating Officer is complete, as stated in Section 173 of the Code. Therefore, the Bench concluded the petition by ordering that the ongoing proceedings in the private complaint filed by the complainant, who later submitted the FIR, should be on hold until the investigation of the current FIR is finished according to the law.
Cause Title: Ram Chandra Bisu v. State Of Rajasthan [Neutral Citation: [2024:RJ-JD:41362]
Appearance:
Petitioners: Senior Advocate Jagmal Singh Choudhary & Advocate Pradeep Choudhary
Respondents: PP Vikram Singh Rajpurohit
