A Single judge bench at Uttarakhand High Court held that non-filing of supporting affidavit in a 156(3) CrPC application, seeking registration of a FIR, is a curable defect and Magistrate may ask the petitioner to file the affidavit before initiating proceedings in the said application.
From Para 10,
10. The main controversy, which is being raised by the learned counsel for the revisionist, was the necessity to file an application under Section 156(3), which has had to be supported by an affidavit as it has been provided by the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Priyanka Srivastava’s matter (supra). The said judgment had a very laudable purpose and object to be achieved that the invocation of Section 156(3), should not be made by the applicant to adopt it as a matter of drawing a farce proceeding against the accused person or for vengeance of personal grievances. The intention and purpose which the judgment wanted to postulate to be adhere to by the Magistrates before whom the applications are filed for taking cognizance of the offence complained of invoking Section 156(3) has had to have an assurance that the factual narration of fact given in the application attaches a sanctity to it and is not based on a frivolous set of allegations. That is why the Hon’ble Apex Court has held that when the application under Section 156(3) is considered by the Court that its the Magistrate concerned, it also castes a duty on the Magistrate himself to ensure that the application preferred under Section 156(3) is authentic and genuine and in order to attach that authenticity, it has been laid down that the application has to be supported with an affidavit.
From Para 12,
12. The very observation made in paragraph 30 (as quoted above) of the judgment of the Priyanka Srivastava’s case (supra) where a responsibility has been shouldered on the Magistrate with regards to the propriety of the application to be supported by an affidavit, i.e. the stage when the proceedings are initiated that in itself makes the defect of the application being supported by an affidavit as to be curable in nature because if an application is not supported by an affidavit and is rejected, it may in a particular circumstance result into depriving of a right of a citizen to invoke the proceedings of Section 156(3) and in these circumstances the Court or the Magistrate can always direct the applicant to file an affidavit in support of his application under Section 156(3) so as to make it maintainable before the Court. If that defect of application under Section 156(3) not being supported with affidavit, is made as an uncurable, it may at times in some cases be giving superior hard to the Magistrate to deprive the applicant of filing application under Section 156(3) by rejecting the same on this procedural ground itself.
From Para 13,
13. In the present case a very peculiar circumstance has emerged the peculiarity is that the revisional court has remitted the matter back to the Trial Court to decide the application afresh. Deciding afresh would mean its at an stage of inception and consideration of the proceedings right from its initial stage, as if it is being entertained for the first time. On revival of the proceedings the Court can always in the light and the spirit enunciated in paragraph 30 of the judgment can direct the applicant (revisionist herein) to support his application along with an affidavit to make it entertainable before the Magistrate concerned. Hence, this Court is of the view that filing of an affidavit in support of Section 156(3) application is curable, in the light and spirit of the observation made in paragraph 30 of the Judgment of Priyanka Srivastava’s case (supra).
Citations: [2019 SCC ONLINE UTT 749]
Other Sources :
https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5d919982714d587fe94d9e28
