'Take Recourse To CrPC': Calcutta High Court Dismisses Writ Petition U/A 226 Seeking Directions For Registration Of FIR

Opining on the established principle of availability of alternate remedy, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday observed that a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution cannot be filed for adjudicating upon a grievance pertaining to the non-registration of FIR by police authorities on the basis of a complaint made. 

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj observed while dismissing a PIL, 

"The grievance is in respect of non-registration of FIR on the basis of the complaint made by the petitioner therefore it is a grievance of personal nature, which cannot be agitated in a PIL. That apart, the writ under Article 226 of the Constitution is not a proper remedy seeking direction to register an FIR or to carry out the investigation."

The Court further underscored that if the petitioner has any grievance in respect of non- registration of the FIR or improper investigation, then the proper remedy available to him is to take recourse to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Reliance was placed on the Supreme Court judgment in Sakiri Vasu v.. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others wherein the Apex Court had underscored, "We have elaborated on the above matter because we often find that when someone has a grievance that his FIR has not been registered at the police station and/or a proper investigation is not being done by the police, he rushes to the High Court to file a writ petition or a petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. We are of the opinion that the High Court should not encourage this practice and should ordinarily refuse to interfere in such matters and relegate the petitioner to his alternating remedy."

In the instant case, the petitioner had contended that the authorities of Contai Prabhat Kumar College had made certain defalcations of funds and subsequently he had registered a complaint with the police authorities in this regard. However, it was submitted that no action had been taken by the police authorities on the basis of the complaint made. 

Accordingly, a prayer had been in the writ petition to issue directions commanding the respondent authorities to register an FIR and to initiate proper investigation on the basis of the complaint. The petitioner had further prayed for issuance of directions to the Superintendent of Police to initiate an enquiry against the concerned Inspector-in-Charge as to why proceedings should not be initiated against him for not taking action after receiving the complaint.

Opining that the petitioner should exhaust the alternative remedies available, the Court dismissed the writ petition. 

Case Title: Abu Sohel v. The State West Bengal and others

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Cal) 41

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