High Court slams Haryana for pending cancellation reports, orders SP to file affidavit

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, August 30

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken serious note of a troubling pattern in the State of Haryana, where cancellation reports—a critical step in criminal investigation—are left languishing for years before reaching the court. The Bench has observed that the delay not only compromises the rights of complainants and accused but also undermines the entire judicial process by weakening the prosecution's case and causing unwarranted delays in the final disposal of criminal trials.

“Even this court has noticed that in several cases the cancellation reports in the State of Haryana remained pending for consideration by the Superintendent of Police concerned of the district for several years and due to this, the rights of the complainant as well as accused are seriously prejudiced. This not only weakens the case of the prosecution but even the final disposal of a criminal trial gets delayed without any justification,” Justice N.S. Shekhawat asserted.

The concern came to the forefront during the hearing of a petition to transfer the investigation of an abetment of suicide case registered in September 2016 under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC at Safidon police station to the `Central Bureau Investigation Agency’, New Delhi, or any other independent investigating agency.

The State counsel told Justice Shekhawat’s Bench during the course of hearing that a cancellation report in the matter was prepared in December 2017. But the report was not presented before the court of law concerned. Taking a note of the submissions, the Bench asserted: “It is shocking to note that the cancellation report is pending before the Superintendent of Police, Jind, for the last seven years.

Emphasising the gravity of the situation, the court directed Jind Superintendent of Police, to file a personal affidavit, detailing the timeline for every cancellation report handled by his office in the last three years—covering the dates of receipt, approval, and presentation before the court.

Before parting with the case, Justice Shekhawat fixed September 20 as the next date of hearing the matter, while issuing a stern warning: the Superintendent of Police would personally appear in court if the affidavit was not submitted.