Postponement of issue of process
AI Assist
Summary
When the accused lives outside the magistrate's local area, the magistrate may, and must in that case, postpone issuing process and either inquire himself or order a police or other investigation to decide if there is sufficient ground to proceed. He cannot order such an investigation if the offence is triable only by the Sessions Court, or where the complaint is not made by a court unless the complainant and any witnesses present have been examined on oath. In an inquiry the magistrate may take sworn evidence; a non-police investigator has police-station powers except the power to arrest without warrant.
Example
Priya files a complaint against Arjun who lives in another district. The magistrate postpones issuing process and asks the local police to investigate whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed. If the offence were triable only by the Sessions Court, the magistrate could not order that investigation and would instead call Priya to produce and have her witnesses examined on oath.
Bare Act
Enacted text(1) Any Magistrate, on receipt of a complaint of an offence of which he is authorised to take cognizance or which has been made over to him under section 212, may, if he thinks fit, and shall, in a case where the accused is residing at a place beyond the area in which he exercises his jurisdiction, postpone the issue of process against the accused, and either inquire into the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by a police officer or by such other person as he thinks fit, for the purpose of deciding whether or not there is sufficient ground for proceeding:
Provided that no such direction for investigation shall be made,-
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(a) where it appears to the Magistrate that the offence complained of is triable exclusively by the Court of Session; or
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(b) where the complaint has not been made by a Court, unless the complainant and the witnesses present (if any) have been examined on oath under section 223.
(2) In an inquiry under sub-section (1), the Magistrate may, if he thinks fit, take evidence of witnesses on oath:
Provided that if it appears to the Magistrate that the offence complained of is triable exclusively by the Court of Session, he shall call upon the complainant to produce all his witnesses and examine them on oath.
(3) If an investigation under sub-section (1) is made by a person not being a police officer, he shall have for that investigation all the powers conferred by this Sanhita on an officer in charge of a police station except the power to arrest without warrant.
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