Procedure to be Adopted in Cases Involving Allegations Related to S.420 of IPC

Procedure to be Adopted in Cases Involving Allegations Related to S.420 of IPC 

Dealing with a case involving allegations under S.420 of IPC, Supreme Court has held that "when a Magistrate receives a complaint he is not bound to take cognizance if the facts alleged in the complaint disclose the commission of an offence. The Magistrate has discretion in the matter. If on a reading of the complaint, he finds that the allegations therein disclose a cognizable offence and the forwarding of the complaint to the police for investigation under Section 156(3) will be conducive to justice and save the valuable time of the Magistrate from being wasted in enquiring into a matter which was primarily the duty of the police to investigate, he will be justified in adopting that course as an alternative to taking cognizance of the offence itself."

Reference : Sadiq B. Hanchinmani v. State of Karnataka [2025] GCtR 1646 (SC)