High Court raps Kapurthala police, imposes Rs 50,000 costs for 6-year inaction

Taking note of the Punjab Police’s failure to take effective steps for over six years to “bring to justice” a proclaimed offender, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed departmental action against officials posted at Kapurthala City police station during the period.

Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj also imposed Rs 50,000 costs on the office of Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police for “dereliction in duty”, while making it clear that the amount could be recovered from the erring officials.

The Bench asserted that an affidavit filed on behalf of Vigilance Bureau Director specifically stated that officials posted as investigating officers/station house officers at the police station failed to take effective steps in discharge of their duties.

“This court deems it appropriate to issue a direction to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kapurthala, to initiate appropriate departmental action against all such erring officials who remained posted at the station. The status report with respect to the action taken against the erring officials also be filed before this court within a period of three months,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted

The case has its genesis in an FIR registered on August 31, 2017, for cheating and criminal breach of trust under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The matter was placed before Justice Bhardwaj after the accused filed fourth petition before the court seeking anticipatory bail.

In an earlier order on August 25, the court directed the Director (Vigilance) to inquire into the steps taken by successive SHOs of Kapurthala city police station between August 26, 2019, and August 25 to apprehend the petitioner, and to file a status report naming the concerned officials.

Justice Bhardwaj, during the course of hearing, added that the petitioner had been declared a proclaimed offender and earlier bail pleas had been dismissed, yet “no efforts have been made to bring the petitioner to justice for over a period of six years.”

As the matter came up again, an affidavit filed on behalf of the Director, Vigilance Bureau, stated that the officials had been “negligent and callous in discharge of their duties and had not taken any effective steps to nab the petitioner.” Names of the officials were also placed on record.

Counsel for the petitioner argued that the case now stood compromised between the parties, a fact confirmed before the court by counsel for the complainant. Taking note of the compromise and the prolonged inaction by police, Justice Bhardwaj held: “Taking into consideration that no steps were taken at all by the respondent-police officials for a period of nearly six years despite the petitioner having been declared as a proclaimed person at that point of time, which shows that his custodial interrogation was never required by the respondents, thereafter, opposing the petition at this stage is evidently for no valid reason.”

Adjourning the matter to December 9, the court directed the petitioner to surrender before the trial court within two weeks. “In the event of his doing so, he shall be admitted to interim bail by the trial court on his furnishing of bail/surety bonds to its satisfaction and subject to payment of a cost of Rs 10, 000 with the ‘Punjab Chief Minister Relief Fund’,” the Bench ordered, adding that the petitioner must also abide by the conditions laid down under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023.