An unchallenged Section 156(3) referral cannot be attacked belatedly after a chargesheet is filed.

Respondent No. 2 alleged that the petitioners assaulted and threatened him during an incident on 16 July 2022.

A relative of the petitioners had separately lodged a complaint concerning the same incident, which resulted in a charge-sheet against respondent No. 2.

Respondent No. 2 later filed a private complaint; the Magistrate referred it to the police for investigation, and the police filed a charge-sheet against the petitioners for offences under Sections 323, 324, 504 and 506 read with Section 34 IPC.

The petitioners sought to quash the charge-sheet and the Magistrate’s cognizance order, arguing, among other things, that the Magistrate had not applied his mind when referring the complaint for investigation.

1. Whether the charge-sheet and subsequent proceedings against the petitioners should be quashed under Section 482 CrPC, given the allegations, witness statements and medical records.

2. Whether the alleged failure of the Magistrate to record satisfaction when referring the complaint to the police justified quashing the proceedings after investigation and filing of the charge-sheet.

Section 482 CrPC confers discretionary inherent jurisdiction, which is not to be exercised to quash proceedings where the record discloses a cognizable offence and no miscarriage of justice is shown.

The Court applied the principle in Anurag Bhatnagar v. State (NCT of Delhi), AIR 2025 SC 3427: after a Magistrate’s order has led to registration of an FIR, completion of investigation and filing of a charge-sheet, the court may decline to interfere where the order is not illegal or without jurisdiction and the subsequent proceedings disclose an offence.

The complaint had been referred for investigation under Section 156(3) CrPC.

The Court found that the incident was supported prima facie by eyewitness statements and medical records showing that respondent No. 2 sustained injuries.

It therefore held that the proceedings could not be quashed at that stage.

As to the challenge to the referral order, the Court noted that the petitioners had not challenged it before the police registered the FIR, investigated the case and filed the charge-sheet, after which the Magistrate took cognizance.

Applying Anurag Bhatnagar, the Court declined to set aside the proceedings on the asserted defect in the referral order.

It clarified that its observations should not affect the Trial Court’s consideration of the case.