Ordinarily, in criminal law, there are two ways by which the machinery of law is set into motion against any person. (1) By registering FIR before Police u/s 154 or by making Application u/s 156(3) to the Magistrate, thereby directing the Police to register the FIR and investigate the offence; (2) By making a complaint before the concerned Magistrates Court u/s 200.

HERE ARE the legal options for the accused who is deemed 'innocent'.

1. If false, frivolous, vexatious, baseless, dishonest FIR is registered, then a Petition / Application u/s 482, may be filed before the High Court, for the quashing of said (false, frivolous, vexatious, baseless dishonest) FIR.

2. If false, frivolous, vexatious, baseless, dishonest Complaint is filed u/s 200 before the Magistrates Court, then, the aggrieved person may prefer:

3. A revision Application u/s 397 before Sessions Court, thereby challenging and quashing of the said Summons / Warrant issued in pursuant to said Complaint; or (b) a Revision Application u/s 401 before High Court, thereby challenging and quashing of the said Summons / Warrant; or

4. An Application u/s 482 before High Court, thereby challenging and quashing of the said Summons / Warrant, in the exercise of inherent powers of the High Court. (Note 1).

5. If the Chargesheet is filed in the Sessions Court or the case is committed to Sessions Court, for the trial of offence charged with, then, before the framing of charges by the Sessions Judge, the accused person may file a “Discharge Application” u/s 227, thereby seeking his discharge of the offence charged with.

6. If the Chargesheet / Complaint is filed in the Magistrates Court, for the trial of “Warrant cases”, then, before the framing of charges by the Magistrate, the accused person may file a “Discharge Application” u/s 239 / 245, thereby seeking his discharge of the offence charged with.

7. However, where the person has filed a Petition before HC for quashing of FIR, as stated hereinbefore, and during the pendency of said Petition, the Police files Chargesheet, then, the prayers of the said Petition, with the leave of the HC, may be amended, and quashing of the Chargesheet may be sought in the said Petition. However, where, the HC decides on “merit” and rejects the Petition, then, the said accused person cannot file “Discharge Application” as provided under Sections 227, 239 and 245.

8. In a trial before Sessions Court, when the Sessions Judge rejects the “Discharge Application”, and proceeds to frame charges against the accused person and take evidences of prosecution witnesses, thereafter Application may be made u/s 232 for the acquittal of the accused, on the grounds of “no offence is made out” against the accused.

9. In a trial before Magistrates Court, in Summons cases, when the Magistrate proceeds to take evidences of prosecution witnesses, thereafter, Application may be made u/s 258 for the acquittal / discharge of the accused, on the grounds of “no offence is made out” against the accused.

10. In a trial before Magistrates Court, in Summons cases, at any time before judgment is pronounced, the Complainant may be persuaded to withdraw his “false, frivolous, vexatious, baseless, dishonest” Complaint u/s 257.

11. At any time before judgment is pronounced, by virtue of Section 321, the Public Prosecutor, with the consent of the trial Court, may withdraw the prosecution. Therefore, a formal request may be made to the Public Prosecutor to withdraw the prosecution, in the light of the fact that “no offence is made out against the accused person”.

12. To put an end to the agony of the trial and accusation, the innocent accused person, at any time during the trial and even at the stage of Appeal, may “compound certain offences” as provided u/s 320 and such compounding of offences has the effect of acquittal of the accused person.

13. Article 21 of the Constitution of India commands that “No person shall be deprived of his life and liberty” except according to the procedure established by law. In Criminal jurisprudence, the only safeguard available to an innocent person is the “scrupulous and strict adherence” to the procedure prescribed in concluding the “guilt of the accused person”. Thus, whenever, any of the prescribed procedure is not “duly followed and complied with”, and where such non compliance to said prescribed procedure, expressly or by necessary implication, put in peril the liberty of the accused person, the accused person may prefer a Writ Petition in the High Court or even in the Supreme Court, thereby challenging such “act of omission” alleging that his liberty is put into danger due to “non compliance to the procedure established by law”.

14. Where, the innocent is however convicted, the “innocent convicted person”, depending on the offence convicted of, may make an Application to the State Govt / Central Govt, for the suspension or reduction of sentence of punishment and the said appropriate Govt, by virtue of Section 432, may suspend or reduce the sentence.

15. Where, the innocent is however convicted, the “innocent convicted person”, may invoke the Inherent powers of the High Court u/s 482 for the quashing of such conviction. The necessary “ingredients” of Section 482 however must be substantially shown to the High Court for exercising such extra-ordinary powers.

16. Similarly, where, the innocent is however convicted, the “innocent convicted person”, may file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) under Article 136 before the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court, having regard to the facts of the case and the injustice that has occasioned, in the exercise of its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, for doing “complete justice”, may quash the conviction. The said SLP may also be filed where the High Court has refused the relief u/s 482, as aforesaid.

Note 1: In Complaints filed u/s 200 before the Magistrates Court, the accused persons named in the Complaint has no right of representation before the Magistrates Court and only when the said Magistrate takes cognizance of the offence and issue Summons / Warrant against the persons named in the said Complaint, the right accrues in favour of the accused person to file Revision etc.

However, the accused person named in such Complaints, very cautiously, may consider, approaching the Advocate / Counsel of the Complainant, with formal or informal request, apprising them with the true facts of the case and telling them to present the true facts of the case before the Court and tell them that the Advocate / Counsel should not mislead the Court merely on the instructions of his Client.

In our law books, it is said that the Advocates / Counsels are “Officers of the Court” though they may be representing and advocating the cause of their Client and they have “ultimate duty towards Court” to present the true facts of the case before the Court.

Note 2: “Framing of Charges” by the Court is a very critical stage of the trial which will reflect the investigation made by the Police and the evidences collected by the Police against the accused person and the scrupulous framing of charges will directly reflect the involvement or the non involvement of the accused person. Therefore, accused persons should press for strict adherence to Sections 211, 212, 213 and 214 while framing of charges by the Trial Court.

Note 3: All Sections referred here pertains to Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.