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Complaints Cannot be Converted into Private Complaints Pertaining to Offences Under Sec 191 and 192 of the IPC: SC
The Supreme Court has held in a judgement that no private complaint cannot be filed under Section 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure pertaining to offences under Section 191(Giving false evidence) and 192(Fabricating false evidence of the IPC despite the false evidence not created within the property of the court).
The bench observed that it is not necessary that the offence has to be committed only in any proceeding in any Court in order to be punishable. The offence can be said to have happened in relation to any proceeding in any court.
In the present case, two complaints were filed by the complainant under Section 340 with Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 claiming offence under Sections 191 and 192 IPC. The accused had purportedly given false evidence and coined false entries in books of accounts.
The complainant referred to the judgement on Iqbal Singh Marwah and Anr.v. Meenakshi Marwah and Anr where the complainant pleaded that the complaints be converted to private complaints. The said complaints were changed into private complaints by the Magistrate under Sections 191,192,193 of the IPC.
The Additional Sessions Judge permitted the conversion petition and said that Section 340 of the CrPC and Section 195(1)(b) had to be followed compulsorily.
The complainant before the Supreme Court contended that the rational adopted in Iqbal Singh Marwah in relation to offences under 195(1)(b)(ii) of the CrPC should be applied in cases falling under Section 195(1)(b)(i) of the CrPC.
The bench comprising of Justices RF Nariman and Navin Sinha pointed out the differences between the offences committed under section 195(1)(b)(i) of the CrPC and 195(1)(b)(ii) of the CrPC and said that it is not necessary that the offence has to be committed only in any proceeding in any Court in order to be punishable. The offence can be said to have happened in relation to any proceeding in any court.
The bench further observed that,
“It seems to us that the baby and the bath-water have both been thrown out together. While it is correct to say that the order of conversion and issuing of process thereafter on a private complaint may not be correct, yet the two complaints as originally filed can still be pursued.
Once the Magistrate’s order had been set aside, the learned Additional Sessions Judge ought to have relegated the parties to the position before the original complaints had been converted into private complaints.
Since this has not been done, we find that Shri Mishra is right in stating that even though allegedly serious offences have been made out under Sections 191 and 192 of the IPC, yet the complaints themselves have now been quashed.”
Hence, the two complaints were ordered to be restored in their original form to continue with the proceedings under Sections 195 and 340 of the CrPC.
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