TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that instructions will be issued within the next 15 to 20 days that in all cases filed under the Criminal Procedure Code a first information report has to be compulsorily registered.
“The choice does not lie with the police on not filing of the FIR, except in cases which do not come under the CrPC,” he told media on the sidelines of a cabinet briefing Thursday, adding that cases that come under the passport act or the tenancy act would be instances where this rule would apply. It is in line with the Supreme Court ruling on compulsory filing of FIRs.
Seeking to allay the popular perception about filing of FIRs, he said that an FIR means “nothing” and it is not necessary that the police arrest a person against whom an FIR has been registered.
“Only thing is the police will have to decide if it is a criminal case before the filing the FIR ,” adding that under section 157 B the police can close the case, if there is no substance in it “but first they have to register and then check.”
Parrikar said that the Supreme Court order has already been placed before the chief secretary.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had made it mandatory for the police to register an FIR after receiving a complaint about a serious offence.
The police have been accused of either refusing or delaying the registering of FIRs so as to keep crime figures artificially low or favouring some influential accused.
