Explainer on this judgment
Elvish Yadav Vs. State of U.P. and Ors.
Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh, JJ.
1. Cognizance under Wildlife Act: Police Chargesheet Is Not a “Complaint”
The Supreme Court’s starting point is Section 55 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which clearly says that no court shall take cognizance of any offence under the Act except on a complaint by specified authorities (Director, Chief Wildlife Warden, authorised officers, or a private person after 60‑days’ notice). This must be read with the CrPC definition of “complaint” in Section 2(d), which expressly excludes a police report under Section 173 CrPC. Therefore, a police chargesheet cannot be “converted” into a statutory complaint for the purpose of Section 55, and cognizance taken on such a chargesheet for offences under the 1972 Act is legally impermissible. The Court relies on earlier rulings like Murad Ali Khan and Jeewan Kumar Raut to reaffirm that special statutes with their own cognizance mechanism (Wildlife Act, TOHO, Drugs & Cosmetics, MMDR, etc.) must be strictly followed, and general CrPC provisions yield to this special procedure (generalia specialibus non derogant).
Print Page