Assam: Court orders registration of FIR against IAS officer for harassing subordinate

Nalbari district's Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate P Goswami noted in her judgement (Case No: CR/231/2024) on Monday that "some incidents" took place during Lok Sabha elections and hence ordered to register the then Paschim Nalbari Circle Officer (CO) Arpana Sarmah's FIR against her superior and District Commissioner (DC) Varnali Deka.

"Considering the facts of the case and considering the entire discussion, I am of the considered opinion that police have failed in their duty cast upon them by law. An FIR needs to be registered for the allegations filed by the complainant and proper investigation of this case needs to be carried out as per law," Goswami said in her order.

She directed the Officer-in-Charge of Nalbari police station to register a case, conduct an investigation and submit the final report expeditiously related to Sarmah's complaint against Deka.

Sarmah on May 8, a day after voting for Lok Sabha polls took place in Nalbari, filed a police complaint against Deka, alleging "mental harassment, public humiliation and threatening" while discharging her election duty.

The circle officer was subsequently suspended on a report by the DC, who alleged that she did not complete her election duty and left the EVM receiving venue midway.

The court noted that Sarmah approached the Nalbari SP, followed by an email to the DGP, for registering the case, but her grievance was not addressed and left with no option, she approached the Gauhati High Court, which directed the jurisdictional court to take up the matter.

"On perusal of the complaint carefully and also, after detailed hearing, it appears to me that some incident took place on the night of the incident and there are some serious allegations against the accused person which are of cognizable nature," the order said.

It further said that an FIR is the first step against any sort of criminal activity as it triggers the criminal justice machinery of the state into motion. As such registration of an FIR is mandatory, and the police is duty bound to make a proper investigation and proceed as per the result of the investigation done, Goswami said.

"...it appears that though police has initiated one enquiry but even after expiry of 5 months, there is no result disclosed of the enquiry. This delay is totally unwarranted against the set principle of law and also, against the direction issued by Hon'ble Supreme Court," she added.

Stating that it is the right of the complainant to get her FIR registered, the judge said the officer concerned is duty-bound to register the case on the basis of information disclosing a cognizable offence.

Sarmah in her complaint to the police in May alleged that Deka "abused" her "verbally" when she had stated that unavailability of labour at 1 am to carry election materials was beyond her control.

The Nalbari DC on the other hand alleged that the Paschim Nalbari CO had "neglected" her duty and "abandoned" the central election management site, set up at Government Gurdon Higher Secondary School, of the district at 2 am without completing her job.

Sarmah in her complaint also alleged that she had been facing "extreme mental harassment" since January this year and she was constantly being "scrutinised" by Deka with "malafide intentions to fix blames" on her on "flimsiest of grounds".

The circumstances had forced her to write to the Personnel Department on March 11 seeking extraordinary leave without allowance or "if my leave was not granted, then the same letter was to be treated as my 'resignation letter'", the complaint mentioned.

She, however, withdrew the letter after persuasion by the staff, well-wishers and the Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, who is the local MLA.