Allowed

Raja v. the Inspector General of Police

Madras HC18 Sept 2019CRL OP/25083/2019

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This Criminal Original Petition sought intervention under Section 482 Cr.P.C. against alleged police harassment. The court issued guidelines for summoning witnesses, recording minutes, and adhering to Supreme Court directions in Lalita Kumari.

What did the court decide?

Criminal Original Petition allowed; guidelines issued requiring written summon, diary entries, and adherence to Lalita Kumari norms.

Raja Vs the Inspector General of Police — Criminal Trial and Appeal | Madras HC (2019)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

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DATED: 18.09.2019

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CORAM:

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.S.RAMESH

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Crl.O.P.No.25083 of 2019

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Raja
2. Tamilselvi
3. R.Ram Kumar
4. R.Anandhi
5. R.Rajesh
6. R.Prakash
7. M.Purushothaman ...Petitioners
Vs.
1. The Inspector General of Police,
Railway Station Road, Alandur,
St.Thomas Mount, Chennai,
Tamilnadu - 600 016.
2. The Deputy Inspector General of Police,
No.7/9, Varadaraja Pannai,
Vandavasi Road, Kancheepuram,
Tamilnadu - 631 501.
3.The Superintendent of Police,
Collector Office, Kancheepuram,
Kancheepuram District,
Tamilnadu - 631 501.
4. The Additional Superintendent of Police,
Collector Office, Kancheepuram,
Kancheepuram District,
Tamilnadu - 631 501.
5. The Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Vandallur, Guduvancherry,
Tamilnadu - 603 202.
6.The Inspector of Police,
H-2 Police Station,
Kupenthiran Street,
Kamarajarpuram, Nandivaram,
Guduvancherry, Tamilnadu 603 202.

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https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

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7.The Inspector of Police, D-3 Police Station, Kamarajarpuram, Nandivaram, Guduvancherry, Tamilnadu 603 202. ...Respondents

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PRAYER: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. praying to direct the respondents not to harass the petitioners.

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For Petitioners: Mr.N.G.P.Rajaram

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For Respondents: Mr.C.Iyyapparaj

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Additional Public Prosecutor

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ORDER

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It is the grievance of the petitioners that the respondents police have been harassing them under the guise of an enquiry/investigation and hence, has invoked the inherent powers of this Court under Section 482 of Cr.P.C.

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An enquiry into a non cognizable offence or a cognizable offence is the unfettered powers of the Investigation Officers so long as the power to investigate/enquire into these offences are legitimately exercised within the frame work of Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Though the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the Magistrate to be a guardian in all the stages of the police investigation, there is no power envisaging him to interfere with the actual investigation or the mode of investigation. It is in this background that numerous petitions complaining of harassment are being reported and filed before this Court seeking for directions to refrain the police officials from harassing the persons named in a complaint.

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This Court, exercising its power under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code normally would not interfere with the investigation conducted by a police officer. Nevertheless, it would also not turn a blind eye to instances of harassment by the police under the guise of investigation is brought to its notice.

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It is seen that in some cases, the investigation pending before the Police has been stayed by Court orders. It is needless to point out that in cases of this nature, the respondents Police will not be entitled to even proceed with the investigation and therefore, the petitioners may not have an apprehension of harassment in the hands of the Police.

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In the present case in hand, the petitioners have complained of harassment by the police based on a complaint and

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https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

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seeks for this Court's intervention by way of a direction. The term 'harassment' by itself has a very wide meaning and hence, what could be harassment to the petitioners may not be the same to the police officer.

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6.In order to circumvent such situations, the following guidelines are issued:

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a)While summoning any persons named in the complaint or any witness to the incident complained of, the police officer shall summon such persons through a written summon under Section 160 Cr.P.C., specifying a particular date and time for appearing before them for such an enquiry/investigation.

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b)The minutes of the enquiry shall be recorded in the general diary/station diary/daily diary of the police station.

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c)The police officer shall refrain himself or herself from harassing persons called upon for enquiry/investigation.

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d)The guidelines stipulated for preliminary enquiry or registration of FIR by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari Vs. Government of Uttar Pradesh and others [2014 (2) SCC (1)] shall be strictly adhered to.

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With the above observations and direction, the Criminal Original Petition stands allowed.

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Sd/-
Assistant Registrar(CS-VI)
//True copy//

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Sub Assistant Registrar
av/hvk

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The Inspector General of Police, Railway Station Road, Alandur, St.Thomas Mount, Chennai,

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Tamilnadu - 600 016.

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The Deputy Inspector General of Police, No.7/9, Varadaraja Pannai, Vandavasi Road, Kancheepuram, Tamilnadu - 631 501.

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https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

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3.The Superintendent of Police,
Collector Office, Kancheepuram,
Kancheepuram District,
Tamilnadu - 631 501.
4. The Additional Superintendent of Police,
Collector Office, Kancheepuram,
Kancheepuram District,
Tamilnadu - 631 501.
5. The Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Vandallur, Guduvancherry,
Tamilnadu - 603 202.
6.The Inspector of Police,
H-2 Police Station,
Kupenthiran Street,
Kamarajarpuram, Nandivaram,
Guduvancherry, Tamilnadu 603 202.
7.The Inspector of Police,
D-3 Police Station,
Kamarajarpuram, Nandivaram,
Guduvancherry, Tamilnadu 603 202.
8.The Additional Public Prosecutor,
High Court, Madras.
+1cc to Mr.N.G.P.Rajaram, Advocate SR.No.79933
Crl.O.P.No.25083 of 2019
EV(CO)
GMY(27/09/2019)

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https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

Raja v. the Inspector General of Police

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Raja v. the Inspector General of Police

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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