Don’t shut cases for lack of chargesheet\, HC tells police

Tamil Nad

Don’t shut cases for lack of chargesheet, HC tells police

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Proceedings against 7,324 police officers may be dropped

The Madras High Court on Monday brought to its logical end a case in which it unearthed 2.14 lakh criminal cases having been closed abruptly in Tamil Nadu between 2009 and 2014 because of delay in filing final reports by the police and another 1.72 lakh cases pending before various trial courts without being taken on file.

Justice M.V. Muralidaran closed the case after directing Judicial Magistrates across the State to henceforth call upon investigating officers to file chargesheets on time in all pending cases and to take up the issue with the higher officials in the district if the investigating officers did not do so.

A direction was issued to all the district judges and chief judicial magistrates in the State as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry to instruct the magistrates to maintain registers for making entries regarding the dates on which final reports were filed by the police and the dates on which they were taken on file by the court concerned.

List of cases

To keep a check on the issue, the magistrates were directed to submit to the district judges and chief judicial magistrates a list of cases that were closed by them under Section 468 of Cr.P.C. Such a list along with other particulars regarding individual cases must be submitted once in three months so that they could be monitored effectively.

Mr. Justice Muralidaran said the investigating officers should ensure that no accused goes scot-free because of non-filing of chargesheet within the statutory period except with just exceptions as contemplated under law.

Appreciating the Director-General of Police T.K. Rajendran for having taken swift action and initiating disciplinary action against 7,324 investigating officers for the lapses committed by them in the past, the judge said the proceedings against them may be dropped and they may let off with severe warning. The judge praised State Public Prosecutor A. Natarajan and Additional Advocate General P.H. Arvindh Pandian for having “extended their fullest cooperation in assisting the court” in the present case.

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