After Police Inaction, Karnataka HC Sets Aside Probe Order, Remands Case, Says Magistrates Must Consider Police Submissions Before Ordering BNSS Probe.

Respondent No. 2 first approached the jurisdictional police and then the Commissioner of Police, but no action was taken on her complaint. She thereafter filed a private complaint under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). By order dated 3 March 2025, the Magistrate referred the complaint to Kengeri Police Station for investigation under Section 175(3) BNSS.

The petitioners challenged that referral, contending that the Magistrate had not considered the jurisdictional police officer’s submissions as required by Section 175(3) BNSS.

Section 175(3) BNSS empowers a Magistrate to order an investigation after considering an application supported by an affidavit under Section 173(4), making such inquiry as the Magistrate considers necessary, and considering the police officer’s submissions.

Relying on Om Prakash Ambadkar v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., Criminal Appeal No. 352 of 2020, the Court noted that Section 175(3) BNSS requires the Magistrate to consider the concerned police officer’s submissions regarding refusal to register an FIR before directing an investigation; this requirement is a change from Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The Magistrate referred the complaint for investigation under Section 175(3) BNSS, but the referral order did not show that the jurisdictional police officer had been heard or that the officer’s reasons for not registering the complaint had been considered.

Applying Om Prakash Ambadkar, the Court held that considering those submissions is mandatory and enables the Magistrate to apply judicial mind before ordering an investigation.

The defect required the referral order to be set aside and the matter remitted; the Court made no determination on the merits of the complaint.

The Court did not decide the merits of the complaint.