Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 10: Supreme Court has issued directions to Vijaypur Police to dispose of the application filed by one Taro Devi strictly in accordance with the principles laid down in Lalita Kumari Versus State of UT and Others case.
The petitioner Taro Devi had filed an application under Section 153(6) of CrPC before the Additional Mobile Magistrate Samba seeking a direction for registration of FIR. In the application it was alleged that on August 29, 2020 when the petitioner was working in her land at Smball Wali in Vijaypur tehsil, the accused persons armed with Dharatis trespassed into the land and hurled abuses upon the petitioner.
However, the petitioner managed to escape from the spot otherwise she would have been physically harmed by the accused person. It was also alleged in the application that the petitioner had approached the SHO concerned as well as SSP but her efforts to get the case registered against the accused persons didn’t bear any fruit.
The Magistrate vide order dated September 9, 2020 directed SHO Police Station Vijaypur to verify the matter and if cognizable offences are made out to proceed in terms of Section 156(3) of CrPC.
The petitioner challenged the order of Magistrate in the High Court through Advocate Deepak Mahajan on the ground that Magistrate could not have delegated the power of verification to the SHO especially when the application on the face of it disclosed commission of cognizable offences against the accused.
However, the High Court observed, “the contention of the petitioner is without merit for the reason that the Magistrate decided to proceed in terms of Section 156(3) of CrPC as she had no option but to get the allegations made in the complaint verified by the Police”.
Accordingly, High Court refused to interference in the order of the Magistrate and dismissed the petition.
The order of the High Court was challenged in the Supreme Court, which observed, “since the matter stands referred to the concerned Police Station, we see no reason to interfere except to emphasize that the matter shall be considered by the concerned Police Station strictly in accordance with the principles laid down in Lalita Kumari Versus State of UP and others”.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court bench disposed of the Special Leave Petition.