Anyone Can Lodge Complaint Under Prevention Of Damage To Public Property Act : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that a complaint for offences punishable under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (“1984 Act”) can be initiated by any person, as the Act imposes no restrictions on who may set the criminal law in motion. “it is a well recognized principle of criminal jurisprudence that anyone can set out or put the criminal law into motion except where the statute enacting or creating an offence indicates to the contrary.”, observed a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale while setting aside the Allahabad High Court's order that had quashed the magistrate's summoning of the accused after taking cognizance of the Gram Pradhan's complaint under various IPC provisions read with the 1984 Act.The High Court set aside the magistrate's order, holding that only a Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti, under the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006, could initiate action against the damage made to the public property. Since the Gram Pradhan was not a competent authority, the High Court held the complaint to be not maintainable. Rejecting the High Court's approach, the Court held that the provisions of the U.P. Revenue Code, being civil in nature, operate in a completely different context relating to the assessment of damages or the ejectment of trespassers. For initiating criminal proceedings under the 1984 Act, the Court said anyone can put the criminal law into motion as “there is no specific provision in the 1984 Act which limits the eligibility of the person making the complaint.” “we are of the opinion that the High Court manifestly erred in law in holding that since the Gram Pradhan was not the competent authority to lodge an FIR, the action of the Special Judge in taking cognizance and summoning the accused is bad in law.”, the Court observed. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed. Cause Title: LAL CHANDRA RAM VERSUS STATE OF U.P. & ORS.Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 1134Click here to download orderAppearance: For Petitioner(s) Mr. Divyesh Pratap Singh, AOR Mr. Shivangi Singh, Adv. Mr. Amit Sangwan, Adv. Mr. Suraj Prakash Singh, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Yash Pandey, Adv. Mr. Bharat Mishra, Adv. Ms. Tiwari Prashantipriya Awadesh, Adv. For Respondent(s) Mr. Haraprasad Sahu, Adv. Mr. Pranaya Kumar Mohapatra, AOR Mr. Ajay Kumar Jain, Adv. Ms. Srishti Singh, AOR Mr. Jitendra Kumar Tripathi, Adv.

Anyone Can Lodge Complaint Under Prevention Of Damage To Public Property Act : Supreme Court

Yash Mittal

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