The Rajasthan High Court has directed magistrates across the state to cautiously and sparingly exercise their power while directing police to register an FIR and ensure that no frivolous case is lodged on private complaints.

Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma observed that magistrates are overreaching their power to order the police to make an investigation by registering an FIR.

"It has been noticed by this court in number of cases that the judicial magistrates are sending complaints filed by private complainants without going through the contents of the complaints to the police stations."

The court took a serious note of the fact that order of registration of an FIR in a cursory manner results in curtailment of right of life and jeopardising personal liberty of persons named as accused in such private complaints.

"It is necessary for the magistrate to at least look into the complaint and see whether prima facie any offence is made out or not before sending the complaint for investigation," Justice Sharma said

The order came while dismissing a petition filed for seeking high court's intervention in an order of ACJM court, Sikar, by which the latter instead of sending the complaint of one Lal Chand for registration of FIR asked the complaint to prove the contents of the alleged offence mentioned by him in the private compliant including the fact that police denied to register an FIR.

The order is significant owing to the recent incident where a city magistrate cursorily directed police to register an FIR against three high court judges.