Mr V Mahindra, v. The State Of Telangana

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION No. 7057 of 2016 ORDER:

The prayer of the petitioner in this case is as under: "It is therefore prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue a Writ, Order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondent No.3 in refusing

1) to register an FIR against the Respondent No.4 & 5 based on the complaints, dated 04.11.2015 and 23.02.2016 filed by the petitioner;

2) registering an FIR vide 97/2016, dated 26.02.2016, U/s.447, 427, 465, 506 r/w 34 IPC against the persons employed by the petitioner without following the procedure of law are illegal, arbitrary, against the rule of law, natural justice, judgment of this Hon'ble Court in WP 34919 of 2015 and violation of article 14, article 21 of Constitution of India and pass such other order or orders may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case; and

3) Consequently, the Hon'ble Court may be pleased to direct the Respondent No.2 to take disciplinary action against the Respondent No.3 for aiding and abetting Respondent No.4 & 5 and in gross violation of the directions of this Hon'ble Court in WP 34919 of 2015 and also to register an FIR against the Respondent No.4 & 5 for trying to grab the land of the petitioner."

2.

Sri D.V. Rao, learned counsel for the petitioner, would however state that he is instructed to press only the first prayer relating to the registration of a crime upon the complaints dated 04.11.2015 and 23.02.2016 and asserts that the petitioner does not wish to press the other prayers.

3. In that view of the matter, as evidence is placed on record in proof of the subject complaints having been received by the police authorities, the writ petition is disposed of as under.

4.

The scope and import of the statutory obligation of the police to register a FIR upon receiving a complaint is no longer res integra.

I n LALITA KUMARI vs.

GOVERNMENT OF UTTAR PRADESH[1], the Supreme Court, speaking through a Constitution Bench, summarized the law in connection with the registration of crimes as under:

1. The registration of a FIR is mandatory under Section 154 Cr.P.C., if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation.

2.

If the information received does not disclose a cognizable offence but indicates the necessity for an inquiry, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted only to ascertain whether a cognizable offence is disclosed or not.

3. If the inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the FIR must be registered. In cases where the preliminary inquiry ends in closing the complaint, a copy of the entry of such closure must be supplied to the first informant forthwith and not later than one week. It must disclose the reasons in brief for closing the complaint and not proceeding further.

4. A police officer cannot avoid his duty of registering a FIR if a cognizable offence is disclosed. Action must be taken against erring officers who do not register the FIR if information received by him discloses a cognizable offence.

5.

The scope of preliminary inquiry is not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information received but only to ascertain whether the information reveals any cognizable offence.

6. As to what type and in which cases preliminary inquiry is to be conducted will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. The category of cases in

which preliminary inquiry may be made are as under: a. Matrimonial disputes/family disputes b. Commercial offences c. Medical negligence cases d. Corruption cases e.

Cases where there is abnormal delay/laches in initiating a criminal prosecution, for example, over 3 months delay in reporting the matter without satisfactorily explaining the reasons for delay

7. While ensuring and protecting the rights of the accused and the complainant, a preliminary inquiry should be made time-bound and in any case it should not exceed 7 days. The fact of such delay and the causes of it must be reflected in the general diary entry.

8. Since the General Diary/Station Diary/Daily Diary is the record of all information received in a police station, all information relating to cognizable offences, whether resulting in registration of a FIR or leading to an inquiry, must be mandatorily and meticulously reflected in the said Diary and the decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry must also be reflected therein.

5. In the light of the afore-stated settled legal position, it is not open to the police authorities to deviate therefrom or show any tardiness in taking appropriate necessary action after receiving a complaint alleging a cognizable criminal offence. In the event the offence alleged is a non-cognizable one, the police authorities are bound to follow the due procedure laid down in Section 155 Cr.P.C.

In any event, the police authorities must take suitable action in the matter expeditiously.

The Writ Petition is accordingly disposed of reiterating the afore-stated directions of the Supreme Court.

Pending miscellaneous petitions shall stand closed in the light of this final order. No order as to costs.

_______________________________ JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR March 3, 2016 LMV [1] (2014) 2 SCC 1