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Court fiat to DGPs on FIRs

J. Venkatesan

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed all States and Union Territories to take steps for registration of First Information Reports (FIRs), immediately on filing of complaints, and furnishing copies to the complainants.

The court in its order said that if the FIR was not registered, the complainant could move the magistrates concerned by filing complaint petitions to give direction to the police.

The case should be registered within 24 hours of the order by the magistrate.

On July 14, a Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice G.S. Singhvi had asked the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all States to file their response to the proposed directions.

During the resumed hearing of a case relating to non-registration of the FIR on a complaint of kidnapping, Justice Agrawal said that it was a pathetic state of affairs that only two States — Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh — had responded to the notice.

He observed: “In this country you need huntering to make you work. Is this Ramrajya in this country...this is swaraj. This is the concept of swaraj.”

The Bench, in its order, granted two weeks for the other States to file their responses, and warned the DGPs and Chief Secretaries that they would have to be personally present in the court if this was not done.

“It is unfortunate that neither the Directors-General of Police/Commissioners of Police, as the case may be, nor the Superintendents of Police have taken any steps by giving suitable directions to the officers in charge of the police stations.

“In view of this, we direct the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories and Directors-General of Police/Commissioners of Police, as the case may be, to see that the police officers posted in every police station throughout the country act in accordance with the order dated July 14.”

The Bench said: “In a large number of cases investigations do not commence even after registration of FIRs and in a case like the present one, steps are not taken for recovery of the kidnapped person or apprehending the accused person with reasonable despatch. At times it has been found that when harsh orders are passed by the members of the judiciary in a State, the police become hostile to them.”

In case of inaction on the part of the police officer in instituting a case, the Bench directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate/Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to give directions to institute the case, failing which he should not only initiate action against the delinquent police officer but also punish him suitably by sending him to jail “in case the cause shown is found to be unsatisfactory.”

The Bench said: “Apart from this, the CJM/CMM shall report the matter to the disciplinary authority at once by fax as well, upon receipt of which the disciplinary authority shall suspend the concerned police officer in contemplation of departmental proceeding.”

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