C.Vasudevan, Aged 57 Years, v. The Commissioner Of Police,
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 23.02.2018
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.S.RAMESH Crl.O.P.No.5461 of 2018 C.Vasudevan ... Petitioner Vs.
1.The Commissioner of Police, Salem.
2.The Inspector of Police, Central Crime Branch, Salem.
... Respondents PRAYER: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. praying to direct the 2nd respondent to register a F.I.R. on the basis of petitioner's complaint dated 08.02.2018.
For Petitioner : Mr.B.Manimaran For Respondents : Mr.C.Raghavan Government Advocate [Crl. Side]
ORDER
This petition is filed seeking a direction to the 2nd respondent to register a F.I.R. on the basis of petitioner's complaint dated 08.02.2018.
2.By consent of both sides, this Criminal Original Petition is taken up for final disposal.
3.The grievance of the petitioner is that inspite of a complaint given by him on 08.02.2018 to the respondents, the same has been kept in abeyance without any action. It is well settled in the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari Vs. Government of Uttar Pradesh and others [2013 (6) CTC 353], that registration of an FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure if an information furnished to the police officer disclose commission of a cognizable offence and in cases where the information does not disclose a cognizable offence, a preliminary enquiry has to be conducted.
4. The respondents are not justified in having received the complaint and keeping it unattended without any further action. In view of the same, the petitioner has made out a case for this Court to invoke its inherent powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
5.In the result, the petitioner is directed to give a copy of the complaint dated 08.02.2018 to the Station House Officer having territorial jurisdiction over the issue. On receipt of the said copy of the complaint, the concerned Station House Officer shall adhere to the following directions.
1)If the information received by the 2nd respondents discloses commission of a cognizable offence, then, the same shall be forthwith registered.
2)If an information received does not disclose a cognizable offence, the 2nd respondents shall conduct a preliminary inquiry to ascertain whether cognizable offence is disclosed therein or not and such inquiry shall be completed within a period of fifteen days from the date of information.
3) If the inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the FIR must be registered, if not already registered or closed.
4) If the preliminary inquiry ends in closing the complaint, the closure report must be recorded along with the reasonings and a copy of the same shall be furnished to the complainant within one week.
5) All information relating to cognizable offences whether resulting in registration of FIR or leading an inquiry must be reflected in the general diary/station diary/daily diary of the 2nd respondent police station.
6. In the result, the Criminal Original Petition is allowed with the above directions.
Sd/- Assistant Registrar(CO) //True Copy// Sub Assistant Registrar nl
To 1.The Commissioner of Police, Salem.
2.The Inspector of Police, Central Crime Branch, Salem.
3. The Public Prosecutor, High Court, Madras.
+ 1 cc to Mr. B. Manimaran, AdvocateSr.14106 Crl.O.P.No.5461 of 2018 PA(CO) EU(09/03/2018)