Holding

Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is mandatory; a police officer must register an FIR on receipt of information of a cognizable offence, and pendency of a contempt petition or the availability of an alternative remedy is not a lawful ground to refuse registration.

Summary

In a property dispute, the appellant obtained a stay order protecting his possession, but respondents broke the lock and removed articles from the premises. The appellant lodged a complaint on 9 and 13 September 1997 alleging a cognizable offence against a police officer, but the police refused to register an FIR under Section 154 of the CrPC. The appellant approached the Delhi High Court, which dismissed the writ petition on the ground that a contempt petition was pending and an alternative remedy existed. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that Section 154 is mandatory and the police must register a case irrespective of pending contempt proceedings or alleged alternative remedies. The Court directed the CBI to register the FIR and investigate within three months and ordered the Delhi High Court to dispose of the contempt petition expeditiously.

Issues considered

Whether the pendency of a contempt petition or the existence of an alternative remedy can bar the registration of an FIR under Section 154 of the CrPC.
Whether a police officer is statutorily obliged to register an FIR on receipt of information disclosing a cognizable offence, irrespective of the credibility of the information.
Whether the Supreme Court can direct the CBI to register and investigate a complaint filed against a police officer.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 154, s. 156, s. 157

Subjects

FIR registrationSection 154cognizable offencepolice dutycontempt petitionCBI investigationmandatory provisionalternative remedy

Judgment

RAMESH KUMAR! A
v.
STATE (N.C.T. OF DELHI) AND ORS.

FEBRUARY 21, 2006

[H.K. SEMA AND DR. AR. LAKSHMANAN, JJ.] B

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973:

S.154-Refusal by police to register complaint-Pending a civil litigation
one side breaking open lock and removing articles from suit premises- C
Complaint by other side-Not registered-Writ Petition-High Court holding
that since contempt petition was pending and alternative remedy was available,
it could not direct registration of complaint-Held, pendency of contempt
. petition or alternative remedy no ground not to register the complaint-Since
complaint filed against a police officer, CBI would register the complaint and D
investigate the maller.

In a property dispute the High Court granted stay order protecting
possession of the appellant. However, respondents No. 2 and 3 were said ,
to have broken open the lock and removed various articles from the suit
premises. The appellant filed a complaint in the Police Station concerned, E
but no case was registered. The appellant filed a writ petition before the
High Court, which held that as the petitioner had filed a contempt petition
and there was an alternative remedy available, it could not direct to
register a case. Aggrieved, the writ petitioner filed the present appeal.

Allowing the appeal, the Court
F
HELD: I.I. The High Court erred in law in dismissing the petition
solely on the ground that the contempt petition was pending and the
appellant had an alternative remedy. Alternative remedy or pendency of
contempt petition would be no ground in law not to register a case when
a citizen makes a complaint of a cogmzable offence against a Police Officer. G
The provision of s.154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is
mandatory and the police officer concerned is duty bound to register the
,, case on the basis of an information disclosing cognizable offence.
[405-D-E; 407-EJ

1.2. In the instant case, the complaint was filed against the Police H
1
404 SUPREME COURT REPORTS !2006] 2 S.C.R.

A Officer. Counsel for the parties are not at variance that in such a situation
the interest of justice would be better served if this Court directs the CBI
to register the case and investigate the matter. Ordered accordingly.
(407-G-Hl

2. It is also not disputed that the contempt petition filed by the
B appellant is also pending disposal before the High Court since 1997. The
petition should be dispos,ed of with a sense of urgency otherwise the
petition itself will loose all i1:s force and the purpose for which the contempt
is initiated would be defeated. (407-F-Gl ~

C CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 1229
of 2002.

From the Judgment and Order dated 24.12.2002 of the Delhi High
Court in Criminal Writ Petii:ion No. 108/1998

Ms. lndu Malhotra for the Appellant.
D
Vikas Singh, ASG, S. Wasim A. Qadri Mrs. Anil Katiyar and D.S.
Mahra for the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivere~ by ''
E SEMA, J. The challenge in this appeal is to the order dated 24.1.2002
passed by the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court. The controversy in
this appeal is confined to the non-registration of the case by the police pursuant
to a complaint dated 9.9.1997 and 13.9.1997 filed by the appellant. It is
stated that the appellant was in possession of the land. The stay order was
F granted by the High Court protecting the possession of the appellant on
14.8.1997 and it was extended by another order dated 10.9.1997, in the
presence of the other side. However, the respondent Nos. 4 to 9 broke open
the lock and removed variom: articles on 9.9.1997 and 10.9.1997. We make
it clear that we are not enter.ng into the merits of the case.

G The grievance of the appellant is that an information of a cognizable
offence has been filed by the appellant before the Station House Officer
(SHO), Kapashera on 9.9.1997 and 13.9.1997. However, no case was registered
by the concerned SHO. Thereafter, the matter was brought to the notice of
the Police Commissioner, without any result. This has led the appellant to
approach the High Court by filing Criminal Wnt Petition No. I 08 of 1998.
H
RAMESH KUMAR! v. STATE(N.C.T. OF DELHI) AND ORS. 405
By the impugned order the High Court was of the view that the appellant has A
filed a Contempt Petition CCP No. 307/1997 and that is pending before the
High Court. The High Court found it difficult to direct to register a case on
the basis of the information filed by the appellant. The High Court was also
of the view that the appellant was alternative remedy available to her, albeit,
without indication what is the alternative remedy available to the appellant. B
The High Court ultimately also observed that should respondent Nos. 1 and
2 be seized of petitioner's complaint or representation, they shall also examine
and pass appropriate orders within three months.

Mr. Vikas Singh, learned Additional Solicitor General, at the outset,
invites our attention to the counter-affidavit filed by the respondent and C
submits that pursuant to the aforesaid observation of the High Court the
complaint/representation has been subsequently examined by the respondent
and found to genuine case was established. We are not convinced by this
submission because the sole grievance of the appellant is that no case has
been registered in terms of the mandatory provisions of Section 154(1) of the
Criminal Procedure Code. Genuineness or otherwise of the information can D
/ only be considered after registration of the case. Genuineness or credibility
~
, . of the information is not a condition precedent for registration of a case. We
are also clearly of the view that the High Court erred in law in dismissing the
petition solely on the ground that the contempt petition was pending and the
appellant had an alternative remedy. The ground of alternative remedy nor E
pending of the contempt petition would be no substitute in law not to register
a case when a citizen makes a complaint of a cognizable offence against the
Police Officer.

That the Police Officer mandatorily registers a case on a complaint of
a cognizable offence by the citizen under Section 154 of the Code are no F
more res integra. The point of law has been set at rest by this Court in the
case of State of Haryana and Ors. v. Bhajan Lal and Ors., [1992) Supp. 1
SCC 335. This Court after examining the whole gamut and intricacies of the
mandatory nature of Section 154 of the Code has arrived at the finding in
paras 31 and 32 of the judgment as under:
G
"31. At the stage of registration of a crime or a case on the basis of
.I
, the information disclosing a cognizable offence in compliance with
the mandate of Section 154(1) of the Code, the concerned police
officer cannot embark upon an enquiry as to whether the information,
laid by the informant is reliable and genuine or otherwise and refuse H
406 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 2 S.C.R.

A to register a case on the ground that the information is not reliable or
credible. On the other hand, the officer in charge of a police station
is statutorily obliged to register a case and then to proceed with the
investigation if he has reason to suspect the commission of an offence
which he is empowered under Section 156 of the Code to investigate,
subject to the proviso to Se1~tion 157. (As we have proposed to make
B a detailed discussion about the power of a police officer in the field
of investigation of a cognizable offence within the ambit of Sections
156 and 157 of the Code in the ensuing part of this judgment, we do
not propose to deal with 1hose sections in extenso in the present
context). In case, an officer in charge of a police station refuses to
c exercise the jurisdiction vested in him and to register a case on the
information of a cognizable offence reported and thereby violates the
statutory duty cast upon "him, the person aggrieved by such refusal
can send the substance of the information in writing and by post to
the Superintendent of Polr.ce concerned who is satisfied that the
information forwarded to him discloses a colonizable offence, should
D either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be
made by any police officer subordinate to him in the manner provided
by sub-section (3) of Section 154 of the Code."

"32. Be it noted that in Section 154(1) of the Code, the legislature
in its collective wisdom has carefully and cautiously used the
E expression "information" without qualifying the same as in Section
41(l)(a) or (g) of the Codie wherein the expressions, "reasonable
complaint" and "credible information" are used. Evidently, the non-
qualification of the word "information" in Section 154( 1) unlike in
Section 41 ( 1)(a) and (g) of the Code may be for the reason that the
F police officer should not refuse to record an information relating to
the commission of a cognizable offence and to register a case thereon ...
on the ground that he is not satisfied with the reasonableness or
credibility of the information. In other words, 'reasonableness' or
'credibility' of the said information is not a condition precedent for
registration of a case. A comparison of the present Section 154 with
G those of the earlier Codes will indicate that the legislature had
purposely thought it fit to employ only the word "information"
without qualifying the said word. Section 13 9 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1861(Act25 of 1861) passed by the Legislative Council
of India read that 'every complaint or information' preferred to an
H officer in charge of a police station should be reduced into writing
RAMESHKUMAR!v. STATE(N.C.T. OFDEL!Il)ANDORS. [SEMA,J.] 407
which provision was subsequently modified by Section 112 of the A
Code of 1872 (Act 10 of 1872) which thereafter read that 'every
complaint' preferred to an officer in charge of a police station shall
be reduced in writing. The word 'complaint' which occurred in
previous two Codes of 1861 and 1872 was deleted and in that place
the word 'information' was used in the Codes of 1882 and 1898 B
which word is now used in Sections 154, 155, 157 and l89(c) of the
present Code of 1973 (Act 2 of 1974). An overall reading of all the
Codes makes it clear. that the condition which is sine qua non for
recording a first information report is that there must be an information
and that information must disclose a cognizable offence."

Finally, this Court in para 33 said :
c
"33. It is, therefore, manifestly clear that if any information disclosing
a cognizable offence is laid before an officer in charge of a police
station satisfying the requirements of Section 154(1) of the Code, the
said police officer has no other option except to enter the substance D.
thereof in the prescribed form, that is to say, to register a case on the
basis of such information."

The views expressed by this Court in paragraphs 31, 32 and 33 as
quoted above leave no manners of doubt that the provision of Section 154 of
the Code is mandatory and the concerned officer is duty bound to register the E
case on the basis of such an information disclosing cognizable offence.

Undisputedly, in the present case no case was registerd pursuant to the
complaint dated 9.9.1997 and 13.9.1997 filed by the appellant. It is also not
disputed that the Contempt Petition CCP No. 307 /1997 filed by the appellant
is also pending disposal before the High Court. It is, however, stated by the F
respondent that the non-disposal of the contempt petition is due to the non-
prosecution by the appellant. Be that as it may, we are of the view that the
contempt petition has been pending since 1997 and as such petition shou Id
be disposed of with a sense of urgency otherwise the petition itself will loose
all its force and the purpose for which the contempt is initiated would be G
defeated.

In this casee, admittedly, the complaint ws filed against the Police
" Officer. Learned counsel for the parties are not at variance that in such a
situation the interest of justice would be better served if this Court directs the
CBI to register the case and investigate the mater. H
408 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 2 S. C.R.

A Mr. Vikas Singh, leanrd Additional Solicitor Generla although
vehemently opposed registration of the case but he fairly concedes that if at
all the case be registered and investigation is to be carried out, the CBI would
be an appropriate authority to register a case and investigate. We are also of
the view that since there is allegation against the police personnel, the interest
B of justice would be better served if the case is registerd and investigated by
an independent agency like the CBI.

We, accordingly, direct that th·~ CBI shall now register a case and
investigate of the complaint filed by the appellant on 9.9.1997 and 13.9.1997.
The CBI can collect the complaint from the SHO, Police Station, Kapashera
C dated 9.9.1997 and 13.9.1997. The complainant will also provide photocopies
of the complaint dated 9 .9 .1997 and 13 .9 .1997 in case of original complaint
is not traceable in the Police Station. Since, the mater is pending from 1997
the CBI is directed to register the cas1~ and complete investigation within a
period of three months from today. We further clarify that by the aforesaid
directions we are not entering into the merits of the controversy of the case
D nor casting aspersions on anybody including the local police.

We also request the Delhi High Court to expedite the disposal of -.
Contempt Petition CCP 307/l 997 in a11y event not later than three months •·
from today for which parties shall give co-operation. The Registry shall
despatch copies of this order to the CBI and Delhi High Court forthwith.
E
With the aforesaid direction the appeal is disposed of.

R.P. Appeal allowed.