Writ jurisdiction cannot bypass CrPC remedies to compel police or CBI investigation into cognizable offences.

A writ petition under Article 226 is not the proper route to compel police or CBI investigation into alleged cognizable offences where the complainant has not first used the procedures in Chapter XII of the CrPC. The statutory framework places registration, investigation, completion of investigation, and report submission within that Code, and where police do not act the complainant may proceed by complaint before the Magistrate, who can inquire, direct investigation, take cognizance, or dismiss the complaint. A writ court is not to be used as a substitute for those remedies, and an investigating agency cannot be directed to investigate every alleged offence as a matter of course.

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Issues: Whether a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India could be maintained to compel police or CBI investigation into alleged cognizable offences without first invoking the procedure provided under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The statutory scheme for cognizable offences places the primary mechanism for registration, investigation, completion of investigation, and submission of report within Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. If the police do not act on information, the complainant may approach the Magistrate under the complaint procedure, where the Magistrate may inquire into the complaint, direct investigation, take cognizance, or dismiss the complaint depending on the material before him. The petitioner had not pursued either of these remedies. In that situation, a writ court is not to be approached as a substitute for the remedies specifically provided by the criminal procedure law, and the investigating agency cannot be directed to investigate every alleged offence as a matter of course.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable for the relief sought, and the challenge to the refusal to direct investigation failed.

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