Section 195 CrPC bar on forgery complaints applies only after the forged document is produced in court before cognizance.

Section 195(1)(b)(ii) of the Code of Criminal Procedure bars cognizance only where the forged document itself has been produced or given in evidence in court before cognizance is taken. A mere copy is insufficient to trigger the statutory embargo, and the protective purpose of the provision does not extend to cases where the original document was filed in civil proceedings only after the Magistrate had already taken cognizance. On these facts, Section 340 was not required and the private complaint could proceed.

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Issues: Whether Section 195(1)(b)(ii) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 barred the criminal court from taking cognizance of a private complaint alleging forgery and use of a forged document, where the original document had not been produced before the civil court prior to cognizance.

Analysis: The statutory bar under Section 195 operates only when the offence described in or punishable under the specified provisions is alleged to have been committed in respect of a document produced or given in evidence in a proceeding in court. The purpose of the provision is to prevent vexatious prosecutions and to protect the purity of judicial proceedings, but the bar is attracted only when the forged document itself has been produced in court, not merely a copy. On the facts, cognizance had already been taken by the Magistrate before the original agreement was filed in the civil court, and the complaint was therefore not hit by the statutory embargo. The procedure under Section 340 was not required on these facts.

Conclusion: Section 195(1)(b)(ii) did not bar the private complaint, and the Magistrate was entitled to proceed with the criminal trial.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the statutory prohibition against cognizance had not been triggered on the material facts, and the criminal proceedings could continue.

Ratio Decidendi: The bar under Section 195(1)(b)(ii) is attracted only when the forged document itself has been produced or given in evidence in court before cognizance is taken; where cognizance precedes such production, a private complaint is not barred.

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