Protest Petition After Acceptance of Final Report: Scope of Magistrate’s Discretion Under Criminal Law By Advocate Avichal Pandey, Allahabad High Court

Protest Petition After Acceptance of Final Report: Scope of Magistrate’s Discretion Under Criminal Law 

By Advocate Avichal Pandey, Allahabad High Court 

Once a Magistrate accepts the final report, it does not automatically imply that the court becomes functus officio or loses all authority to proceed further in the matter. Judicial precedent has consistently clarified that acceptance of a closure report does not create a legal bar against subsequent consideration of a protest petition. The position laid down in Mahesh Chand makes it clear that mere acceptance of the final report cannot prevent the Magistrate from taking cognizance of the offence if sufficient grounds are disclosed through the protest petition.

At the same time, the Magistrate retains complete judicial discretion while dealing with such a protest petition. The Supreme Court in Vishnu Kumar Case has categorically held that where, upon consideration of the final report and statements recorded under Section 161 CrPC, the Magistrate is satisfied that no prima facie case is made out, he cannot be compelled to take cognizance merely because a protest petition has been filed.

The Court further explained that if the Magistrate chooses to treat the protest petition as a complaint, the mandatory procedure prescribed under Sections 200 and 202 CrPC must be followed. This necessarily requires examination of the complainant and the supporting witnesses before any further action is taken. However, where the materials already available on record are sufficient to persuade the Magistrate to disagree with the conclusions of the Investigating Officer, cognizance may be taken directly under Section 190(1)(b) CrPC, without the necessity of recording statements under Section 200.

The judgment also clarifies that since no litigant can insist that a protest petition must be treated as a complaint, the appropriate remedy for an aggrieved complainant is to institute a fresh complaint before the competent Magistrate and invite the court to proceed in accordance with Sections 200 and 202 CrPC.

Thus, the settled legal position is that a protest petition may be treated as a complaint if it satisfies all essential legal requirements of a complaint. Even after acceptance of a closure or final report, the Magistrate possesses the jurisdiction to take cognizance where circumstances justify such action. Nevertheless, this power remains discretionary and cannot be invoked as a matter of right by the complainant. In exceptional situations, even a second protest petition on identical facts may be maintainable. However, where the complainant seeks a detailed judicial inquiry, the more appropriate course is to file a fresh complaint and allow the Magistrate to adopt the procedure contemplated under Sections 200 and 202 CrPC.

Avichal Pandey

Advocate 

Allahabad High Court