Supreme Court Rules Out Magistrate’s Authority to Reconsider Cognizance Orders

In a recent landmark judgment, the Supreme Court declared that a Judicial Magistrate lacks the jurisdiction to entertain a protest petition challenging an order taking cognizance of a final report. The ruling unfolded in a case where a Chief Judicial Magistrate had taken cognizance against a single accused for a murder offense based on a final report submitted by the Crime Investigation Department.

The turning point arose when the victim’s father lodged a protest petition, objecting to the Magistrate’s failure to take cognizance against other implicated individuals. Subsequently, on November 3rd, the Chief Judicial Magistrate issued another order, acknowledging the other accused persons. Unhappy with this turn of events, the accused parties appealed to the Supreme Court after their petition under Section 482 CrPC was rejected by the High Court.

The High Court had leaned on a precedent from the Supreme Court, Nupur Talwar vs. CBI and Anr (2012) 2 SCC 188, to dismiss the appellants’ plea. However, the appellants argued that Nupur Talwar was irrelevant to their case, asserting that it specifically addressed a Magistrate’s authority to consider a protest petition against a closure report filed by the investigating agency.

The Supreme Court concurred with the appellants, with Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal expressing surprise at the Magistrate’s decision to entertain a protest petition against a prior order of cognizance. The bench emphasized that the Magistrate lacked the power to modify an earlier cognizance order, deeming such an action impermissible.

In the Court’s words, “Such a course was not permissible as it was not open for the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate to entertain a protest petition against his earlier order of taking cognizance. The order dated 3rd November 2009 amounts to modification of the earlier order dated 9th April 2009, which was not permissible as there is no power conferred on the learned Judicial Magistrate to modify an earlier order of taking cognizance.”

Distinguishing the circumstances of Nupur Talwar, the Court allowed the appeal, overturning the subsequent order by the Chief Judicial Magistrate taking cognizance against the appellants in the case of Ramakant Singh and others v. The State of Jharkhand and another.