Preliminary enquiry in matrimonial complaints is ordinarily required before FIR registration, unless special reasons justify immediate action.

In matrimonial and family disputes, Lalita Kumari permits a preliminary enquiry to screen false or vexatious complaints, even though registration of an FIR is mandatory where cognizable offences are disclosed. The enquiry is confined to a prima facie check whether the complaint discloses a cognizable offence and is not a test of the truthfulness of the allegations. Later decisions reiterate that the need for such enquiry depends on the facts and circumstances, and that police should ordinarily undertake it in appropriate matrimonial matters unless special reasons justify immediate FIR registration.

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Issues: Whether, in matrimonial offences, the investigating agency was bound to conduct a preliminary enquiry before registering the first information report when the information disclosed cognizable offences.

Analysis: The directions in Lalita Kumari recognise that registration of an FIR is mandatory where cognizable offences are disclosed, but they also carve out illustrative categories, including matrimonial and family disputes, where a preliminary enquiry may be warranted to screen false or vexatious complaints. The scope of such enquiry is limited to ascertaining whether the complaint discloses a cognizable offence on a prima facie basis, and it is not meant to test the truthfulness of the allegations. Later decisions reaffirm that the need for preliminary enquiry depends on the facts and circumstances of the case, and that in appropriate matrimonial matters the police should ordinarily undertake such enquiry unless immediate registration is justified by special reasons.

Conclusion: A preliminary enquiry was required on the facts of these cases, and the FIRs could not proceed without first undertaking that exercise.

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