The Allahabad High Court reiterated that proceedings under Section 174A IPC can only be initiated based on a written complaint from the Court that had initiated proceedings under Section 82 CrPC against the accused.

The Bench of Justice Saurabh Lavania referred to an earlier Division Bench judgment in which it was observed that, "proceedings under Section 174-A IPC can be initiated only on the basis of a written complaint of the court which had initiated proceedings under Section 82 CrPC against the accused and FIR is barred by Section 195(1)(a)(i) CrPC."

Ravi Dev Singh, also known as Ravidev Yadav, along with another applicant, challenged the legal proceedings initiated against them under Section 174-A of the IPC in the Allahabad High Court. The proceedings stemmed from an FIR based on a summoning order issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Lucknow on May 7, 2024.

The applicants argued that the FIR and the subsequent legal actions were not legally valid. The main issue before the Court was whether an FIR could be lodged under Section 174-A IPC for someone declared a proclaimed offender before the 30-day period required by a proclamation under Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) had elapsed. The applicants contended that the proceedings were invalid because they were initiated based on an FIR, which contradicted the mandatory provisions of Section 195 of the CrPC. This Section requires that any offense under Sections 172 to 188 of the IPC be prosecuted only on a written complaint by the concerned public servant, rather than through an FIR.

The Court noted that, "if legislature had intended to invoke the provision of cognizable offence only on the basis of filing written complaint then permitting to register F.I.R. for direct offence will definitely amount to interfere/deprive the personal liberty of a person. Therefore once Section 195(1)(a)(i) Cr.P.C prohibits the taking cognizance of the offence u/s 174-A I.P.C., except on the basis of written complaint, then permitting lodging of an F.I.R. u/s 174-A I.P.C. will amount to travesty of justice to the person concerned as the personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be deprived, except in accordance with law."

In light of the same, the Court allowed the application and quashed the proceedings.

Cause Title: Ravi Dev Singh @ Ravidev Yadav And Another vs The State Of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC-LKO:59689)

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Allahabad High CourtJustice Saurabh LavaniaCrPC

Ananya Soni