SC: Police Must Register FIR On Complaint Of Cognizable Offence

Here is the link to the judgment

Here is an excerpt:

“The concerned police officer is statutorily obliged to register the  case on the basis of the offence disclosed in the complaint  petition and proceed with investigation in terms of procedure  contained under Sections 156 and 157 of the Code. “

“Holding that the conduct of the police has led to grave miscarriage of justice, the apex court in its judgment dated October 12 observed, “Section 154 of the Code thus casts a statutory duty upon police officer to register the case, as disclosed in the complaint, and then to proceed with the investigation. The mandate of section 154 is manifestly clear that if any information disclosing a cognizable offence is laid before an officer in charge of a police station, such police officer has no other option except to register the case on the basis of such information.” Rejecting the plea of delay in trial, the court said,”No doubt, quick justice is sine-qua-non of Article 21 of the Constitution, but when grave present case is committed by the police officer, the ground of delay of disposal of cases or miscarriage of justice as pointed out in the otherwise would not scuttle the miscarriage of justice, similarly, we are of the view that in given facts and circumstances of this case, the accused themselves would be laible to be blamed for the delay if any,” Dismissing the appeal of Lallan Choudhary and others, the apex court also said, “Hence the police officer concerned is duty bound to register the case on receiving information disclosing cognisable offence. Genuineness or credibility of the information is not a condition precedent for registeration of a case. That can only be considered after the registeration of the case. The police officer concerned cannot embark upon an inquiry as to whether the information laid by the informant is reliable and genuine or otherwise and refuse to register a case on the grounds that the information is not relevant or credible.”

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AP State Police: Responsibilities Of Citizens

Here is the link:

Here is an excerpt:

“Be truthful and forthright while going to police for redressal of complaints. Avoid the unholy practice of exaggerating or maneuvering facts to attract operation of criminal laws or to enhance their severity. This is particularly unfortunate when such complaints are pushed through devious recommendations or monetary inducements. Such short sighted actions strike at the root of the rule of law and are among the factors responsible for many of the ills, like malicious investigations and burking, affecting policing. Chandigarh Police would like to reassure that a sincere account of a complainant’s version, though may not be covered by criminal laws, would be given due consideration. All efforts would be made to resolve the same under the alternate complaint resolution mechanism as many such disputes lead to future crimes or breach of peace.”

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Laws And Acts From The MP Police Web Site

Here is the link

It has the CrPc etc

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Study On Police People Interface

A study by Anju Gupta, a UP cadre IPS officer (pdf).

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The Center For Policy Research

Apparently, The Center For Policy Research is the premier institution in our country for framing policy debates. Here is the link to their website.

I found a couple of interesting articles that should be of interest to the guys. These are about the new legislations being introduced in Parliament.

• The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2006
  
• The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill, 2007

The amendments to the CrPC. are pretty interesting and so are the bill for senior citizens. I’ll add my comments later.

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Criminal-Politician Nexus Getting Stronger

Here is the article from Tribune India

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An Example Of A Writ Mandamus-The Shankaracharya Case

I had written about restraining a police officer from abusing his powers in a previous post

Here is the excerpt from the judgment from that post that explains writ mandamus:

“It appears to us that, though the Code of Criminal Procedure gives to the police unfettered power to investigate all cases where they suspect that a cognizable offence has been committed, in appropriate cases an aggrieved person can always seek a remedy by invoking the power of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution under which, if the High Court could be convinced that the power of investigation has been exercised by a police officer mala fide, the High Court can always issue a writ of mandamus restraining the police officer from misusing his legal power”

I was looking for a good example of a judgment in response to a writ mandamus petition. I found a great example. This is the case of the Kanchi Shankaracharya who got entangled in a criminal case.

Looks like the police froze the accounts of the trust he runs and subsequently, the writ mandamus was filed and upheld by the Chennai High Court.

The Hon’ble judge says:

“Prof.Wade, in his magnum opus “ADMINISTRATIVE LAW”, (9th Edition – Page 343), observes as follows, while dealing with “Restriction of Discretion”: ” The first requirement is the recognition that all power has legal limits. The next requirement, no less vital, is that the courts should draw those limits in a way which strikes the most suitable balance between executive efficiency and legal protection of the citizen. Parliament constantly confers upon public authorities powers which on their face might seem absolute and arbitrary. But arbitrary power and unfettered discretion are what the courts refuse to countenance. They have woven a network of restrictive principles which require statutory powers to be exercised reasonably and in good faith, for proper purposes only, and in accordance with the spirit as well as the letter of the empowering Act.”

I am adding this here, as the cops play the role of the intimidator, bounty hunter, goon and extortionist in almost all 498A cases. A writ mandamus is one of the means to put them in their place. If you need more convincing, re-read the excerpt from the judgment above.

Here is the judgment: Chennai HC: An Example Of A Writ Mandamus

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Interpol Global Standards To Combat Corruption In Police Forces

The Interpol document on combating police corruption

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Corruption

The abuse of 498A is basically a symptom of the endemic corruption at all levels of Indian public life.

Here are a bunch of links relating to corruption:

• http://www.corisweb.org/
• http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2002/2002_12_17_south_asia_survey
• http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/1206/ijde/boswell.htm
• http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2004-12/2004-12-06-voa26.cfm?CFID=180646892&CFTOKEN=12529063
• http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/wh/71803.htm
• http://www.icgg.org/corruption.research_contributions.html
• http://www.uncjin.org/Standards/Conduct/ccl/repkorea.pdf
• http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/corruption_projects_report_presentations.html
• http://www.transparency-usa.org/survey_96.htm
• http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UNTC/UNPAN019187.pdf
• http://www.justresponse.net/KT-Pacitti_interview.html
• http://www.atimes.com/reports/BL13Ai01.html
• http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/janfebmar03/pgs36-37.htm
• http://www.unodc.org/pdf/corruption/publications_compendium_e.pdf
• N Vittal On Corruption
• http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN010330.pdf
• http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/13/33910834.pdf
• http://www1.oecd.org/daf/Asiacom/countries/korea.htm
• http://www.interpol.int/Public/Corruption/IGEC/
• http://www.un.org/webcast/merida/statements2/kore031210en.htm
• http://www.un.org/webcast/merida/statements2/kore031210en.htm
• http://www.adb.org/Documents/Conference/Fight_Corruption/
• http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~youjong/Role%20of%20civil%20society%20in%20combating%20corruption_May%202003.pdf _________________________________________________

SC Slams The Police For Inaction

Here is the link to the TOI Article:

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Information From The Kiran Bedi Site

This is a FAQ on FIR and other things

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Due Process In India: An Article From IE

Here is the link: Due process

An excerpt: “What is due process when it comes to India? What is the record of our police and security agencies in terms of always respecting basic constitutional principles and guilty-until-proven-innocent rules? What is our record in quickly processing terror cases? Fourteen years after the Mumbai blasts, the convicted are still being sentenced. None of this is to suggest that India shouldn’t be concerned about its citizens abroad. But remembering how we run our own criminal justice system is useful when judging others: due process appears to have been followed in Haneef’s case.”

The Express asked some good Questions.

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The Wife Of A Karnataka Cadre IAS Officer Is Fighting Corruption

I read about Mrs JN Jayshree here:

“In the southern Indian state of Karnataka (of which Bangalore is a part), J. N. Jayashree, wife of a state bureaucrat named M. N. Vijayakumar who has spoken out vigorously against corruption in the government there, started a blog as a way to spread the word about the pilferage currently plaguing Karnataka . Raising her husband’s international profile in the face of the recent murders of whistleblowers such as Satyendra Dubey and Shanmughan Manjunath was another motivation.”

This is an article about her in the New York Times

This is her blog: Fight Corruption Now

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What Does An Interpol Red Corner Notice Application Form Look Like ?

I really like these AP CID guys. They have a lot of information posted at their site, including a downloadable Red Corner Alert application form. Here is a link to their site.

This is what it looks like

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Judgements From AP CID Website

Here is the link.

I like these guys. They’ve compiled a decent list of SC judgments, unfortunately all in in MS word format.

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Corruption In Indian Police: Some Documents From The National Police Academy

Here is a link to the pdf from the SVP National Police Academy.

Here is an  excerpt.

“8. Over the years, the corruption has spread to other areas of police as well. This was largely due to the steady expansion of the role of police in view of the enactment of a number of social and other legislations that are to be enforced by the police. The success of any social legislation depends on the effectiveness of its enforcement and police have a protective as well as promotional role to perform in this sphere” . However, police have many limitations on the effective enforcement of such legislations. The ambiguities in many of these legislations coupled with the police discretion “to act or not to act” in respect of certain offences under them give ample opportunities to the personnel to resort to corrupt practices during the enforcement of such acts. For example, police discretion would prevail upon all other factors when a question is to be decided whether the provisions of the ‘Prevention of Sati Act – 1987’ can be attracted against the relatives of a widow who committed Sati at her own will.”

http://www.svpnpa.gov.in/

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School Teacher Acquitted In 498A Case

Here is an inspiring story of a very forgiving school teacher and father in law. The cops humiliated him and his family.

Download the pdf here: School teacher Paraded by cops praised by court

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Consequences Of Filing False 498A Cases

There is a lot written about horror faced by families who get entangled in 498A cases, but nothing is said about the consequences faced by women who file these cases, if the plan backfires. 498A is ultimately a gamble. These women file cases at the advice of their lawyers, close relatives with vested interests or just to persecute the hubby and in-laws or to defraud the hubby and his family as they know that this law is actually designed to be more effective as a tool for extortionists and blackmailers than for protecting women facing dowry harassment or domestic violence.

The best source to know more about the consequences of filing a false case is the document by Madhu Purnima Kishwar (http://tinyurl.com/2rbmxs). She is a respected fighter for women’s rights, unlike the tabloid feminists of today who misrepresent facts and who hog the headlines with shrill statements (remember the Pooja Chauhan episode?).

Read this article in the LATimes to get an idea about what divorced womens finances look like.

I think you need to read what she has to say. I’ve put together a few points of my own:

• Divorce after a 498A is guaranteed. 498A is a nuclear weapon. It should never be used for any other purpose than what it was intended for, which was to protect women from dowry harassment. It was not designed to allow it be used to settle scores or as an extortion tool. If the accused fight back, the filers of a false 498A will face the consequences.
• She won’t get married again. The reason being our very conservative society. Feminism may be a fashionable thing to bandy about, but no family, including the family of the filer of a false 498A, would like to admit one of their own into their homes. This is all about power politics in relationships and once it is known that a woman had filed a false 498A, she will be treated like radioactive material.
• Her sister(s) may eventually run off with the milkman or something along similar lines may happen as they risk remaining spinsters.
• Any sisters-in-law she may have will turn against her as time goes by. Her brothers may not get married again. Think about this. Would you be willing to send your sister/daughter into a home where there is woman who has quarreled with a decent husband and used the law to terrorize him and his family? How happy would your sister/daughter be in a home like that? How secure would a family feel, if the sister of the woman who filed a false 498A enters the house as a bride? It also says a lot about that family that they did not discourage her from doing so.
• The filer of a false 498A may face arrest under Section 182. The sentence may range up to 6 months.
• If kids are involved, their well-being may be threatened as fathers play a crucial role in the up bringing of a child. A 498A almost always results in a divorce.
• If the 498A is being filed at the instigation of close relatives and for no valid justification, be assured of this, once the relatives get what they want, they will abandon the woman.
• The woman may get fined by the court for filing false charges. Click here for the news article.

Go through the The 498A Survival Kit if you anticipate a false 498A.

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Women Are More Violent

Here is a link to an article on BBC online.

Women are more violent

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News Items Relating To Section 182

Here is the link: Chandigarh Police FAQ

This will give a clear idea about section 182.

Here is an excerpt:

“Is it an offence to register/lodge false FIR ?
Yes.
Lodging of a false FIR/complaint is punishable under IPC.

Such an informant/complainant can be proceeded against under section 182 IPC or under section 211 IPC by the police. Private person against whom false FIR/complaint has been lodged can also file complaint in the court for the offence of defamation. ”

Here is a list of news Items about Section 182.

• http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19991004/ige04106.html
• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/667039.cms
• http://www.southasianews.com/75208/Apollo-Hospital-maintains-innocence-police-lodge-FIR-against-it-.htm
• http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=152931

All the cases above are trivial ones. No one is hurt, nobody has their fundamental rights violated, no one is subjected to the blackmail or extortion.

Why don’t the cops start registering cases against these women who abuse 498A ?

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