Gujarat HC questions government on curbing cops’ leniency to bootleggers

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court rapped the state government for not acting on instructions it had issued last year, to create an “in-house mechanism” to monitor stereotypical FIRs being filed in prohibition cases, in which bootleggers are often shown as fleeing the spot despite police having specific information about the movements of liquor.
On Friday, Justice S H Vora reminded the state government that it was ordered to act to curb police collusion with bootleggers. “As on date, the State has not created any in-house mechanism to monitor the designed FIRs (accused escaping despite prior intelligence),” the HC noticed and pulled up the government for not furnishing information regarding such “designed FIRs”, as the HC has dubbed them, in prohibition cases because in most cases the HC found that while liquor was seized, the bootleggers escape the raiding police parties.
After criticizing the police for leniency towards criminals, Justice Vora on May 9, 2018 ordered the state government “to appraise the court whether it contemplates putting in practice any in-house mechanism to monitor such ‘designed FIR’”. The HC had said that it was time for the government to act against the practice of filing designed FIRs.
The high court observed that it could not pass specific orders in absence of information. It had sought all details in a certain format from the state government, seeking to know the FIRs registered in prohibition cases in during 2017-18, names of bootleggers who escaped in the incidents, vehicles caught ferrying liquor, names and designation of cops involved in the raids etc. The HC had sought these details within a month.
However, the information was not furnished to the HC, which has now asked the government to come up with the same information in a set format on FIRs registered between May 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019.
The high court sought this information by June 12, when a further hearing will take place on this issue.
Justice Vora took up the matter when an alleged bootlegger from Bhuj town in the border district of Kutch sought bail. The judge had observed, “The flow of designed FIRs is not a recent practice adopted by many police stations, but has been in place for long as if it has become a “custom” while dealing with prior information with about the movement of liquor in the state. Had there been an in-house mechanism to monitor such a custom, the filing of designed FIRs would have been controlled to a great extent and/or the concerned police officials would not have ventured to file such FIRs.”