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Or is it generally impossible for this to occur and can grounds for not proceeding against an accused be based on anything other than evidence? How do magistrates prevent First Information Reports that are in bad faith? CrPc = code of criminal procedure

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  • Your pattern of questions suggest that this is not just of casual interest. If you have been charged with a crime, you need a lawyer, not a group of random Bozos on the internet.
    – Dale M ♦
    Commented Mar 8, 2023 at 20:34
  • What do yu mean when you say a prima facie case made out against someone? Is this only in the charging document or is it established with evidence in affidavits and/or a preliminary hearing? What if there are affirmative defenses that are established in pretrial proceesings (e.g. it might be clear that a statute of limitations was established or that the person alleged to be murdered is not dead)?
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Mar 8, 2023 at 23:01
  • oh don't worry. I can assure you it's nothing like that (I do however have a lot of hypthetical law and politics questions with specific topics because those are usually not answered well in text books) @DaleM
    – user49663
    Commented Mar 8, 2023 at 23:34

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First Information Reports that are "in bad faith" will be (should be) tested in court by the production of witnesses and evidence.

Opportunities to discharge depend on the mode of trial i.e. whether it is a "summons" or "warrant" trial.

For a Warrant's Trial the court can discharge (in addition to the prima facie provisions at CrPc 227 referred to by this related answer) under:

If, upon considering the police report and the documents sent with it under section 173 and making such examination, if any, of the accused as the Magistrate thinks necessary and after giving the prosecution and the accused an opportunity of being heard, the Magistrate considers the charge against the accused to be groundless, he shall discharge the accused, and record his reasons for so doing.

Or under:

(1) If, upon taking all the evidence referred to in section 244, the Magistrate considers, for reasons to be recorded, that no case against the accused has been made out which, if unrebutted, would warrant his conviction, the Magistrate shall discharge him.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent a Magistrate from discharging the accused at any previous stage of the case if, for reasons to be recorded by such Magistrate, he considers the charge to be groundless.

[with a West Bengal ammendment]

But there are no provisions to discharge in a Summons' Trial see this detailed article (by Anirban Bhattacharya and Bharat Chugh)

The recent order of the Supreme Court in Amit Sibal, appears to be the much needed course correction and seems to suggest that the trial court has no power to drop proceedings / discharge in a Summons Trial. This also appears to be in sync with the settled judicial view and also the scheme of CrPC, wherein separate and distinct procedures have been laid down for Warrants, as opposed to Summons Cases (or those cases triable summarily for that matter).

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