Disposed

P.Mahamuda Begum D/o P.Usman All Khan v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Telangana HC16 Jun 2016WP/19096/2016

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In a writ petition, the High Court disposed of the matter by reiterating the Supreme Court's direction in Lalita Kumari that registration of an FIR is mandatory under Section 154 Cr.P.C. if a cognizable offence is disclosed, reiterating exceptions for preliminary inquiry in specific categories.

What did the court decide?

The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to reiterate the Supreme Court's settled legal position on mandatory FIR registration.

P.Mahamuda Begum D/o P.Usman All Khan Vs… — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Telangana HC (2016)

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THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE PRAVEEN KUMAR

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WRIT PETITION No. 19096 of 2016

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ORDER:

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The grievance of the petitioner is that the police authorities have not registered a FIR on her complaint dated 06.06.2016.

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

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LALITA KUMARI V/s. 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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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of each case. The category of cases in which preliminary inquiry may be made are as under:

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a. Matrimonial disputes/family disputes

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b. Commercial offences

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c. Medical negligence cases

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d. Corruption cases

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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

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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.

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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.

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In the light of the afore stated settled legal position, it is not open to the police authorities to deviate there from 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, if the report is received. If any crime is registered for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of seven years or less, the investigating agency shall scrupulously follow the conditions stipulated in the judgment of the Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar v.

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State of Bihar and anothe r^[2] .

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The writ petition is accordingly disposed of reiterating the aforestated directions of the Supreme Court. Pending miscellaneous

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

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JUSTICE PRAVEEN KUMAR

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16.06.2016 gkv

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