4,591 FIRs pending for over three years, Punjab informs high court

The state has admitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the investigation on 4,591 FIRs has been pending for over three years. The disclosure came just about three months after the High Court expressed shock at the staggering backlog of criminal investigations in Amritsar district alone, where 1,338 FIRs remained pending for over three years, leaving “thousands of accused” on the run.

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Appearing before Justice NS Shekhawat’s Bench, state counsel submitted that chargesheet, cancellation or untraced reports had been filed in connection with 1,463 FIRs in various courts. This was out of total 6,054 FIRs that had been pending for over three years about a month ago.

The state counsel assured Justice Shekhawat’s Bench that certain senior officials had been specially appointed to monitor the progress as regards the remaining 4,591 FIRs. Among other things, he added that the investigation would be concluded at the earliest.

The Bench also took on record an affidavit filed by the State DGP in compliance with a court order dated April 2. Fixing the case for further hearing on July 18, Justice Shekhawat’s Bench called for a fresh status report by way of an affidavit by the DGP.

The development is significant as the law mandates that investigations in criminal cases be conducted expeditiously to uphold the fundamental right to a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. Section 173(1) of the CrPC requires the investigating officer to complete the probe “without unnecessary delay”.

The Supreme Court has also repeatedly asserted that undue delays violate an accused’s right to speedy justice and could lead to quashing of FIRs or bail relief.

Justice Shekhawat, on a previous date of hearing, had expressed shock that investigation in cases registered in 2013 was still pending. “In several cases, the files of the investigating officers are missing for the last more than 10 years and it has been stated that the police file is under reconstruction. In a few cases, it has been found that the doctor’s opinion with regard to the injuries suffered by the victims have not been obtained for the last more than four years. Still further, in most of the cases, no efforts have been made to arrest the accused and thousands of criminals are on the run in one district of Punjab,” Justice Shekhawat had asserted.