Section 173(2) CrPC enables the police officer to submit a final report of investigation before the magistrate, having power to take cognizance over the matter. There are certain resources through which the magistrate and the complainant can note their objection to the report, which includes:

1.Magistrate

The duty of the Magistrate is not one limited to readily accepting the final report. He can have three options on receipt of final report.If the police report states the offence appears to have committed, the Magistrate may:

• Accept report and take cognizance and issue process.
• Disagree with the report and drop proceeding, provided an opportunity of hearing must be granted to the informant, who would otherwise get adversely affected thereby.
• Direct further investigation and require police to make another report. If the police report states no offence appears to have committed, the Magistrate may;
• Accept report and drop proceedings.
• Disagree with the report, and independently apply his mind to the facts emerging from investigation and statement of witnesses, can take cognizance under section 190 (1) (b) CrPC.
• Direct further investigation.

2. Aggrieved person or complainant- PROTEST PETITION

When the aggrieved person or complainant is not satisfied with the police report, he can file a ‘protest petition’. Protest petition simply means summing up objections against the final report, seeking magistrate to order further investigation. It needs to be filed by the informant who lodged FIR (Bhagwant Singh Case). There is no express provision in the Code dealing with protest petition, still evolved as a practice. The ‘protest petition’ is treated as a complaint under section 200 CrPC and requires the examination of complainant and his witness as is mandated under section 202 CrPC. Magistrate could not be compelled to take cognizance by treating the protest petition as a complaint (Vishnu Kumar Tiwari V. State of UP, 2019). If the Magistrate refuses to treat the protest petition as a complaint, the remedy is to file a fresh complaint under section 200 CrPC