As a Company Secretary, how would you deal with a complaint by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in a Special Court.

The Registrar of Companies (ROC) and the SFIO are empowered to file complaint before a Magistrate if they are of an opinion that a particular company has been in default according to Companies Act, 2013 or is pursuing its activities violating the law of the land. They can file a complaint under section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. But the difference lies in how the complaint is treated. The SFIO has been empowered under the section 212 of the Companies Act to file a complaint. The complaint of SFIO is treated as police report under section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Whereas, the complaint filed by the Registrar of Companies is not considered as a police report but a private complaint under section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The complaint by the ROC has to pass through the hurdle of pre-trial evidence on the same platform as that of the complaint of SFIO. When a complaint is received by the Magistrate, the power to take cognizance on the basis of such complaint is provided under Section 190 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. However, further action on such complaint has to be taken under Sections 200-204 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Under Section 200 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the Magistrate has to record the statement of the complainant on oath, and also of other witnesses, if any. As the large number of complaints are filed by private individuals, many of which may be frivolous complaints. Therefore, it is considered necessary to verify the details of such complaints by examining the complainant on oath under Section 200 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. In certain "complaint" cases, action may have to be taken by the Magistrate under the provisions of Section 202 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, i.e., an inquiry by the Magistrate himself or an investigation by police, etc. After these steps, if the Magistrate does not find sufficient ground or finds no prima facie case to proceed further, he may dismiss the complaint under Section 203 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973; on the other hand, if he finds sufficient ground to proceed, he may issue process under Section 204 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The complaint filed by SFIO does not have to pass through the process of section 200 to 203 as mentioned above. After a complaint has been filed by the SFIO, it is treated as police report and it directly proceeds to the section 204 and the next stage of trial that is issuing of summons or warrants. Whereas the complaint filed by the ROC has to pass through the procedure mentioned under section 200 to 203 which causes a delay in the prosecution initiated by the ROC.