HC slams Punjab Police over 1,338 pending FIRs in Amritsar, orders accountability
In a scathing indictment of the Punjab Police, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed shock at the staggering backlog of criminal investigations in the Amritsar district alone, where 1,338 FIRs remain pending for more than three years, leaving “thousands of accused” on the run.
Lambasting the lack of police supervision, Justice N S Shekhawat has directed Punjab to provide a list of all IPS officers who have served as Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) in Amritsar since 2013, “so that appropriate disciplinary/legal action may be taken against all of them.”
Further widening the scope of scrutiny, Justice Shekhawat also directed the Punjab Director-General of Police to submit an affidavit listing all cases across the state where investigations have remained pending for over three years.
“The court is shocked to know that in cases registered in the year 2013, the investigation is still stated to be 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,” the Bench asserted.
Justice Shekhawat further noted that attempts were not made to arrest accused persons in more than a few cases and proceedings were not been initiated to declare absconding accused as proclaimed offenders or attach their properties.
“From the record, it is also apparent that no proceedings have been initiated against the absconding accused to declare them proclaimed offender/proclaimed persons and no efforts have been made to attach their properties,” the court asserted while underscoring the systemic failure in ensuring that the accused were brought to justice.
Taking serious note of the complete breakdown in supervision, the court asked the DGP to personally oversee the investigations and ensure that cases were pursued fairly, rather than being hurriedly closed.
“The Director General of Police, Punjab, is directed to look into the matter personally and to ensure that the investigations are conducted fairly as per the procedure established by law and the cases are not closed in a hurry,” the order stated.
Justice Shekhawat also ordered the DGP to initiate disciplinary, legal, or even criminal action against officials found guilty of destroying police records or causing the disappearance of investigation files. The matter has been listed for further hearing on March 28.
Police negligence exposed: A snapshot of pending investigations
Forensic neglect: A case under the provisions of the NDPS Act registered in 2015 at Jandiala police station remains stalled as the investigating officer is yet to submit seized samples for forensic testing, even after nearly a decade.
Missing evidence: Another NDPS case from 2015 saw the disappearance of crucial bulk and inventory parcels from the police station’s double-lock malkhana, raising concerns over evidence tampering.
Vanished case files: A cheating case filed in 2015 under IPC provisions remains unresolved as the investigating officer misplaced the entire case file. The police have failed to reconstruct it from official records.
Procedural delay: In an arms-related case registered in 2015, police failed to obtain a mandatory sanction order from the District Magistrate, leading to a decade-long delay in prosecution.
Untraced accused: The police have neither arrested thousands of absconding accused nor initiated proceedings to declare them proclaimed offenders or attach their properties, further exposing the lack of enforcement in Punjab.
