What is complaint & Ingredient of complaint

Complaint-

The word complaint has been defined under section 2(d) of the code of criminal procedure. According to section 2(d)-

A complaint means any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate with a view to his taking action under the code of criminal procedure, that some person whether known or unknown has committed an offence, but it does not include a police report.

A report made by a police officer in a case which discloses the commission of the non-cognizable offence after investigation, and shall be deemed to be a complaint and the police officer by whom such report is made shall be deemed to be the complainant.

Ingredients of a complaint

The main ingredients of a complaint are as follows :

1. There must be an allegation about the commission of an offence,

2. It must be made to a magistrate either orally or in writing;

3. It must have been made with a view to his taking action against the person alleged to have committed the offence;

4. Though a police report does not constitute a complaint but a report by a police officer in a case which after investigation, discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall be deemed to be a complaint

5. It must be against some person, whether known or unknown, who is alleged to have committed an offence.

6. A complaint about an offence can be filled by any person except in cases of offence relating to marriage, defamation and offences in sections 195 to 197, when it can be filed only by the aggrieved person.

Examination of a Complaints

As per Section 200, CrPC, a Magistrate, after taking cognizance of an offence, examines both the complainant as well as the witnesses on oath. The objectives of such examination are:

To establish whether the case against the person (who is being accused in the complaint) is actual.

To find out whether the complaint is reasonable or is lodged just for harassing the person by a false allegation.

This section provides further that the facts obtained from such examination should be condensed to writing along with the signature of the complainant, the witnesses and the Magistrate.

What if a Magistrate is not competent to take cognizance of the case

As per Section 201, if a complaint is lodged before a Magistrate who has no jurisdiction to deal with the case, then he can do any one of the following things:

1. Where the complaint is in written form, he is required to return it to the appropriate court for presentation along with approval for such effect.

2. Where the complaint is not in written form, he should direct the complainant to the appropriate court.

POSTPONEMENT OF ISSUE OF PROCESS

As per Section 202 (1), a Magistrate may postpone an issue of process to compel the appearance of the person complained against or order the police officer to investigate for deciding whether there is a satisfactory reason for proceedings.

Instead of ordering an investigation by the police, the Magistrate himself can also inquire into the case or order another person (whom the Magistrate thinks fit) to investigate. This can be done in the following conditions: