Supraja Chandra v. State of Karnataka
In the High Court of Karnataka
Criminal Petition 5667/2013
Before Justice H. N. Nagamohan Das
Decided on January 6, 2014

Relevancy of the case: Power of a Magistrate to direct investigation by the Cyber Crime Police Station under Section 156(3) CrPC

Statutes & Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 120B)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 156)

 Relevant Facts of the Case

• The respondent number 3 is the petitioner’s husband. Due to their differences, the petitioner was in Bangalore and the respondent was in the US.
• He lodged a complaint in Bangalore under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• The police filed a B report before the Magistrate without further investigation. The trial court rejected the B report.
• The trial court referred the case to the cyber crime police station in Bangalore for investigation under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Opinion of the Bench

• When a jurisdictional magistrate has referred a case to the cyber crime police station under Section 156(3), it must register the case and present the investigation report before the Magistrate.

 Final Decision

• The petition is disposed of.