Police diary entry not a must to lodge FIR: Supreme Court

Entering details of a crime in the General Diary of a police station is not a precondition either for the lodging of an FIR or initiation of criminal proceedings, the Supreme Court has held.

A conclusion that it is mandatory to make entries in the Station Diary, and failure to do so would be fatal for the prosecution is wrong, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices N.V. Ramana and Abdul Nazeer said in a judgment overturning a Karnataka High Court decision to quash criminal proceedings in a corruption case.

The State had appealed in the apex court.

The court acknowledged the argument made by Devadatt Kamat, Additional Advocate General, Karnataka, that defect or irregularity in investigation cannot result in quashing of the proceedings.

Record of transactions

In its judgment, the apex court first explained that a General Diary is a record of all important transactions/events taking place in a police station, including departure and arrival of police staff; handing over or taking over of charge; arrest of a person; and details of law and order duties.

The court, however, clarified that though there is “an obligation for a police officer to maintain a General Diary, such non-maintenance per se may not render the whole prosecution illegal.”

“However, on the other hand, we are aware of the fact that such non-maintenance of General Diary may have consequences on the merits of the case, which is a matter of trial. Moreover, we are also aware of the fact that the explanation of the genesis of a criminal case, in some cases, plays an important role in establishing the prosecution’s case,” the judgement observed.

The obligation of maintaining a General Diary is part of the course of conduct of a police officer, which may not have any bearing on the criminal trial, unless some grave prejudice going to the root of matter is shown to exist at the time of the trial, the Supreme Court said.