PANJIM: In cases of non-registration of an FIR by a police station, approach the concerned jurisdictional district Superintendent of Police for grievance redressal instead of rushing to the local MLA as he does not have the legal powers to deal with such cases, experts said here on Saturday.
In case if the SP also fails to take action, then the aggrieved can approach the judiciary or the Police Complaints Authority to get the FIR registered, they said.
Speaking during the weekly Herald TV debate Point-Counterpoint on the topic,
‘Does Goa Police Work Only For the Powerful?’, senior Panjim-based advocate Ryan Menezes said that Section 154 of the Criminal procedure Code (CrPC) contemplates that every information relating to the commission of a cognisable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him and that constitutes the registration of an FIR in the prescribed register. A copy of the FIR must be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant.
“What the police do is either they water down the sections which are invoked, and register it as a non-cognizable offence. Or they simply write back to the complainant, stating that the matter is a civil dispute and it can’t take it up. It may be a civil matter, but they can’t exclude criminal liability,” the senior lawyer said.
According to him, invariably, the police use these kinds of excuses to avoid registration of FIR, which could be due to pressure from the higher authorities instructing the police not do proceed with the case or it could be because whenever FIR is registered, the police have to investigate the case, which means additional pressure on them.
“In such a scenario, the complainant has to first write a letter to the jurisdictional SP, asking him or her to intervene and direct the Police Inspector (PI) to register the FIR. If that is not done, then under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC, the complainant can go to the Judicial First Class Magistrate (JFMC) and ask for a direction to the PI to register the FIR,” he said.
He added that many people don’t take up their complaints with the JFMC, instead go to the local MLA, who does not have any statutory power.
Former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Crime & Range, Bosco George said that if a police officer does not take cognisance, the immediate remedy is approaching the SP.
“I have been a district SP. But nobody ever came to me for remedy in such cases of non-registration of FIR. Write to the SP if a PI does not register your FIR. There are also the judiciary and the Police Complaints Authority to deal with such issues,” he said.
Sharing her point of view, journalist and documentary filmmaker, Shweta Bajaj said that the problem with Goa Police is three-pronged.
“First is the power struggle. Then, one must realise that Goa is no more a small State. In fact, in the garb of being a small State, a lot of international crime syndicates are operating here and thirdly, the training of police officers is not up to the standard that a State needs,” she said.
Human Rights activist, Cyril Fernandes said that the police system in India is a legacy of the British.
“It was formed to suppress the voices of dissent and keep the powerful to remain in control for doing its job. Nobody was supposed to question them. It remains that way even after independence. Same situation applies for Goa,” Fernandes said.
