THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.11111 of 2011 ORDER: Petitioners preferred this criminal petition challenging the registration of Crime No.153 of 2011 of Nandikotkur Police Station, Kurnool District, for the oﬀences punishable under Sections 3 (1) (x) and 3 (1) (xi) of SCs & STs (POA) Act. Heard. The main contention raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners is that on the same set of allegations made in the present crime, the complainant/2nd respondent herein already preferred a complaint against the petitioners herein and one Venkataramana, the son of petitioners 1 and 2 herein, before the respondent police and the same was registered as Crime No.66 of 2010. After completion of investigation in the said Crime No.66 of 2010, the respondent police ﬁled the charge sheet, deleting the names of the petitioners herein, before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nandikotkur, who has subsequently taken cognizance of the same and committed the case to the concerned court of sessions. Learned counsel further submitted that with the same allegations as stated in the earlier complaint in Crime No.66 of 2010, the present private complaint is ﬁled before the same Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nandikotkur, against the petitioners herein whose names were deleted in the charge sheet ﬁled in the earlier similar complaint, and the same is erroneously referred under Section 156 (3) of Cr.P.C., for investigation. A perusal of the record reveals that prior to ﬁling of the present private complaint under Section 200 Cr.P.C. before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nandikotkur, the complainant already ﬁled a complaint to the respondent police in respect of the very same allegations made in the present private complaint and the police, after completion of investigation, ﬁled the charge sheet deleting the names of the petitioners before the same Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nandikotkur, who has subsequently taken cognizance of the same and committed the case to the concerned Sessions Court. Since the earlier similar complaint of the complainant was taken cognizance and committed to the concerned Sessions Judge, the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nandikotkur, ought to have considered the present private complaint as protest petition and conduct an enquiry under Section 202 Cr.P.C. to decide whether there is suﬃcient ground for proceeding with the case or ought to have ordered for further investigation under Section 173 (8) Cr.P.C. Instead of invoking the provisions under Section 202 Cr.P.C. and 173 (8) Cr.P.C., the learned Magistrate has forwarded the present private complaint under Section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. Thus, this Court is of the view that because of the error committed by the learned Magistrate, the complainant should not be put in trouble. Hence, the learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nandikotkur, is directed to consider the present private complaint ﬁled by the complainant/2nd respondent herein as protest petition and to proceed with the case in accordance with law. Accordingly, the criminal petition is disposed of. The miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this criminal petition shall stand closed. ____________________ JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO 22.11.2011 v v