PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 23 -- The Allahabad high court has directed the Judicial Training and Research Institute (JTRI) in Lucknow to impart training to judicial officers in the state that "cognizance is the base of a criminal case, so cognizance order must be passed in accordance with law." The court passed the order while quashing criminal proceedings in a theft case where cognisance was taken by the magistrate beyond the mandatory period of three years prescribed under Section 468 of the CrPC. Justice Praveen Kumar Giri quashed the criminal case filed against one Avneesh Kumar. Earlier, the court had called for an explanation from the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) concerned as to why cognisance was taken beyond the limitation period as provided under Sections 468 and 469 of the CrPC. In its order dated January 19, the court took strong exception to the explanation offered by the then CJM, Firozabad, who submitted that, as per the usual practice prevalent in all magisterial courts, no in-depth enquiry is made on police reports before taking cognisance. The case pertained to a motorcycle theft, and the FIR was lodged in July 2019 under Section 379 of the IPC. The first charge sheet was filed against five co-accused, and cognisance was taken promptly in 2019. However, the investigation against the applicant (Avneesh Kumar) and another accused (Suraj Thakur) remained pending before the court. The second charge sheet against these two was prepared on June 26, 2021, but it remained with the circle officer (city), Firozabad, for over three years. Eventually, it was submitted to the court in November 2024. Ignoring the three-year limitation bar, the CJM concerned took cognisance more than five years after the incident and over three years after the charge sheet date....