The same date (31 July 2025), the Supreme Court interpreted the procedural prerequisite of Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which permits a Magistrate to direct an enquiry into a cognizable offence on the basis of a complaint. The Court again reiterated that a complainant is to produce a supporting affidavit to the truth of the allegations and to reveal past similar litigation, as in the case of Priyanka Srivastava v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2015). The Court, however, concluded that failure to file the affidavit with the original application is not necessarily fatal: the deficiency can be rectified, provided the affidavit is filed prior to the Magistrate issuing any substantive order (i.e., order directing FIR or police investigation). When compliance occurs not prior to the substantive order, then that defect cannot be remedied and is in itself an avenue to quashing.