Explain the following: Form and manner of filing complaint.

Form and manner of filing complaint A complaint in a criminal case is what a plaint is in a civil case. The requisites of a complaint are: (i) an oral or a written allegation; (ii) some person known or unknown has committed an offence; (iii) it must be made to a magistrate; and (iv) it must be made with the object that he should take action Form & Manner of Complaint: There is no particular form for narration of the incident in the body of complaint. It is sufficient if it contains a valid and correct description how and in what manner the offence was committed. Only facts which are connected with the incident have to be stated in the complaint. Facts which can prove involvement of the accused in the offence should also be mentioned. The petition of complaint must disclose the names of the witnesses of the offence. The petition of complaint shall thus set out in clear and unambiguous terms all the points essential for establishing the case. Complaint need not be presented in person. A letter to a magistrate stating facts constituting an offence and requesting to take action is a complaint. A petition addressed to the Magistrate containing an allegation that an offence has been committed, and ending with a prayer that the culprit be suitably dealt with is a complaint (Mohd. Yousuf v. Afaq Jahan, AIR 2006 SC 705). Note: Police report is expressly excluded from the definition of complaint but the explanation to Section 2(d) makes it clear that such report shall be deemed to be a complaint where after investigation it discloses commission of a non-cognizable offence. Police report means a report forwarded by a police officer to a Magistrate under Subsection (2) of Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.