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Issues: Whether the Magistrate's endorsement dismissing the complaint for default before cognizance and issuance of summons amounted to a final judicial order barring proceedings, and whether the complaint was liable to be quashed.
Analysis: The complaint was by a private complainant for an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Before a complaint can be taken on file, a Magistrate is required to comply with Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by examining the complainant on oath. Section 256 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies only after summons has been issued and the accused appears; it does not govern a pre-cognizance stage. On the facts, the endorsement of 10.04.2003 was made when the complainant was absent and before the complaint had been validly taken on file. That endorsement was therefore not a judicial order on merits, but only an office entry made before the statutory requirements were completed. In the absence of dismissal on merits, there was no bar to proceeding further on the complaint and no prejudice was shown.
Conclusion: The earlier endorsement did not operate as a final order, and the Magistrate's action in taking the complaint on file and issuing summons was within jurisdiction. The petition for quashing was not maintainable.
Ratio Decidendi: A pre-cognizance dismissal for default, made before compliance with Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and before issuance of summons, is not a final judicial order and does not bar subsequent valid cognizance of the complaint.
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