Madras HC orders TN Home Secretary to appear over 'illegal practice' of police not registering FIR

Chennai: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary to appear before it on January 31 over the "illegal practice" of police not registering FIR and filing final reports within the stipulated time.

Justice P Velmurugan gave the directive on Wednesday while passing interim orders recently on a petition filed by P Sundar, which sought a direction to the Virugambakkam police to file a final report in a case registered in the year 2015.

The judge said when the matter was taken up for hearing on Wednesday, the Government Advocate submitted that this case was closed in 2015 itself. He has also stated that the police has not filed the final report before the Magistrate concerned, the judge added.

The judge said this was not the first such instance and in so many cases, after completion of investigation, the police were not filing the final report before the Magistrate concerned. It was well settled proposition of law that soon after registering FIR, it has to be sent to the Magistrate concerned forthwith. As and when the police conducted the investigation, the materials collected/recovered/seized and the statements recorded have to reach the Magistrate concerned forthwith, without any undue delay, the judge added.

After completion of investigation, the Police has to file a final report before the Magistrate concerned within the period of limitation. In so many cases in Tamil Nadu, the Police were not filing the final report before the Magistrate concerned within the period of limitation, the judge added.

Ultimately, the litigants who were able to approach the HC either by filing Criminal Original Petition or Writ Petition, were getting direction of the Court to the Police. Those complainants/poor litigants, who were unable to do so due to poor financial situation/poverty, were struggling to get justice, the judge added.

Even after directions of the court, the police officials were not following the procedures and the directions of the Court. One way or the other, some of the police officials were functioning arbitrarily and not for the public. All the aggrieved persons cannot approach the Court for getting directions to register the case, to file final report and to expedite the investigation, the judge added.

The judge said there were umpteen number of petitions being filed under section 482 CrPC seeking directions even to register FIR and to file Final Report, which itself shows that the police officials were not following the procedures and filing Final Report within the stipulated time. This case was one such example where though the case was registered in 2015 and closed the same year, the police neither communicated the same to the petitioner nor filed the same before the Magistrate concerned, the judge added.

The judge said, "This Court does not know as to whether the concerned Secretary to Government is aware of the illegal practice prevailing in the police department, which is causing much inconvenience to the poor litigant/public and hence this Court is directing the Home Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu (Dheeraj Kumar) to appear before this Court on January 31, 2025."