The Madras High Court on Friday asked Tamil Nadu Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar to ensure that police personnel register First Information Reports (FIRs) and complete investigation in criminal cases within a reasonable time and without prolonging matters for years together.
Justice P. Velmurugan told Mr. Kumar, who was present in the court, that the intention of asking him to appear in person was only to apprise him of numerous instances in which litigants had to approach the court for a direction to the police to perform even their statutory functions.
He said that only those who had the economic wherewithal to engage lawyers were able to file such petitions seeking a direction to either register an FIR or complete the investigation within a stipulated time. The poor complainants had no choice but to suffer the official apathy.
The Home Secretary referred to the statistics related to criminal proceedings and pointed out that most of the functions were being done online. He assured the court of steps to speed up the process and ensure timely action in criminal cases.
Earlier in the day, a request was made to the court to dispense with the appearance of the Home Secretary. However, the judge refused to accept the request and insisted that the officer appear by 4.30 p.m., failing which an arrest warrant would be issued against him.
The Secretary appeared before the court in the evening in compliance with a direction issued by the judge on Wednesday. The direction was issued on a petition filed by a trader from Virugambakkam in Chennai complaining that the police had not filed the final report in a criminal case for more than nine years.
Stating this was not an isolated incident and that the court was flooded with similar petitions, the judge had written in his interim order: “This court does not know as to whether the concerned Secretary to Government is aware of the illegal practices prevailing in the police department, which are causing much inconvenience to the poor litigant/public and hence, this court is directing the Home Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, to appear before this court on January 31, 2025.”
