Case can't be dismissed on Non-appearance of Complainant: Karnataka High Court

The High Court of Karnataka, while overturning a Magistrate Court order, said cases cannot be dismissed just to be rid of them. The HC said merely because the complainant was not present in court on a particular day, the case cannot be dismissed. "When the presence of the complainant on that day is not necessary, the learned JMFC (Judicial Magistrate First Class) ought not to have dismissed the complaint for non-appearance of the complainant," Justice P N Desai said in his recent judgement on a criminal appeal. "Simple to dispose of the cases or get rid of them, the complaint cannot be dismissed when there is no necessity of the presence of the complainant," said the HC. The appeal was filed by Nagaraj from Kalaburgi. He filed a private complaint against Ishwar Kamalapur in a cheque-dishonouring issue. The case was pending before the JMFC court since 2013. The accused did not appear before the trial court till 2018. On October 17, 2018, the JMFC dismissed the complaint for non-appearance of the complainant.'