Register FIR upon receipt of complaint: High Court tells state DGP

 

Chennai: The Madras High Court has directed the state DGP to have all police stations in the state register the First Information Report (FIR) immediately upon receipt of complaints if the information disclosed the commission of a cognisable offence. No such complaint should be kept pending under the guise of enquiry, Justice T. Mathivanan said.

 

 

In his contempt petition, Rikhabchand submitted that on August 28, 2009, head constable Sampath, attached to Mylapore police station, had taken away 204 g of gold jewellery, claiming that it was stolen property, from his shop.

 

The jewellery was neither produced before the court nor kept in police custody. His complaints to the Commissioner of Police begat no action.

 

Though Inspector Karunakaran, who filed three status reports in the court, had registered an FIR against the then Inspector Mannarmannan and head constable Sampath, there was no progress in the investigation. Moreover, he did not register the case within two weeks. Karunakaran had willfully disobeyed the court’s order, he added.

 

Acceding to the Public Prosecutor’s request, the judge said, “Inspector Karunakaran is found guilty under section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act. However, he is admonished with a stern caution to be more diligent in future.”

 

The judge observed that if such officials were not performing their duty as required by law, their recalcitrant attitude would not be encouraged, this case being an instance in point.

 

The judge said that the court found that, of late, such contempt petitions were increasing, and therefore, felt that it may be expedient to issue a direction to all the police stations in connection with the registration of the FIR, he added.