Luckose Zachariah @ Zak Nedumchira Luke and Others vs Joseph Joseph and Others

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

18 February 2022

Case No.

Criminal Appeal No. 256 of 2022

Result

Disposed

Bench

D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant

Citation

[2022] 2 S.C.R. 917 : 2022 INSC 205

Headnote

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: ss.173(2), 173(8), 173(3), 173(6) – Initial Report and Supplementary Report – Duty of Magistrate – As per the law laid down in Vinay Tyagi v Irshad Ali whenever a supplementary police report is filed after the original police report, the Magistrate has to consider both the reports conjointly and should not place reliance only upon the supplementary police report – Both the reports have to be assessed conjointly so as to find out whether there existed grounds to presume that the accused has committed the offence.

Disposing of the appeal, the Court

HELD: The Sessions Judge was justified in setting aside the order of the Magistrate for the simple reason that after the supplementary report submitted by the investigating officer, the Magistrate was duty bound in terms of the dictum in paragraph

42 of the decision in Vinay Tyagi v Irshad Ali, as well as the subsequent three-Judge Bench decision in Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya v. State of Gujarat to consider both the original report and the supplementary report before determining the steps that have to be taken further in accordance with law. The Magistrate not having done so, it was necessary to restore the proceedings back to the Magistrate so that both the reports could be read conjointly by analyzing the cumulative effect of the reports and the documents annexed thereto, if any, while determining whether there existed grounds to presume that the appellants have committed the offence. [Para 15][923-F-H; 924-A] Vinay Tyagi v. Irshad Ali (2013) 5 SCC 762 : [2012] 13 SCR 1005; Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya v. State of Gujarat (2019) 17 SCC 1 : [2019] 15 SCR 936 – relied on.

Joseph v. Antony Joseph 2018 (3) KHC 23 – referred to.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. This appeal arises from a judgment of a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Kerala dated 3 March 2021. 3. On 3 February 2016, FIR 205 of 2016 was registered at police station Alappuzha North against the appellants for the alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 294(b), 323, and 324 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code 1806. The first appellant was named as the second accused, the second appellant as the third accused and the third appellant as the first accused.

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