Mar 11, 2022

What can you do if the police don’t act on your complaint?

In a recent order, the Punjab and Haryana High Court discussed what a person can do when police officers do not take action on a complaint. A person who gives a complaint to the police (complainant), or a person who is a victim of a crime, can face the problem of police inaction. A complainant/victim has several remedies to deal with the police in case of deliberate inaction, unreasonable delay, failure to collect evidence, shielding of offenders etc. by the police.

Procedure in criminal cases

In India, the law on criminal procedure is regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The High Court referred to Section 173(1) of the Code, which says that every police investigation should be completed without unnecessary delay.

The Court held that investigation has to be fair, prompt, transparent and judicious to both the victim of a crime, and the person accused of a crime. An investigation which is ineffective, unfair, unclear, irresponsible, or delayed investigation etc. is against the fundamental rule of law under Article 21 of our Constitution.

What can you do against police inaction?

The High Court said that complainants/victims have remedies against the police, and referred to the Supreme Court judgement in Sakiri Vasu v. State of UP. In this case, the Supreme Court said that if a Magistrate thinks proper investigation is not being done by the officer-in-charge of a police station, the Magistrate can certainly direct the officer to make a proper investigation and can also monitor the investigation. Further, if a person thinks that a proper investigation has not been made by the police officer, the person can approach the Superintendent of Police or another superior police officer (the superior officer can do the investigation if he wants to).

Thus, the High Court said that the complainant/victim of a crime can apply to the relevant Magistrate for monitoring the police investigation, and the Magistrate can issue appropriate directions for speedy completion of the investigation.

The complainant/victim can also file a complaint against the Investigating Officer for deliberately disobeying any law which regulates the manner of conducting an investigation. Under Section 166A of the Indian Penal Code, such an officer can be punished with rigorous imprisonment for six months up to two years, along with a fine.

The complainant/victim may alternatively file a petition in the High Court for transferring the investigation to an independent agency such as CBI.

Related Weekly Posts

March 04 2022

Police Stations must have display boards with legal aid details

  Justice UU Lalit who is not only a judge in the Supreme Court of India but also the Executive Chairman of the National legal Services Authority mentioned during an event that police stations in the country must have display boards informing about the right to legal aid and the availability of free legal aid […]
Read More >

February 27 2022

#MaskUp or you could end up with a police case against you

The Tamil Nadu police have filed over 6,61,944 lakh cases (in the past three weeks) against people who failed to wear masks across the State.   What are the punishments for violating Covid-19 rules? Some of the punishments are:   Offence Punishment Intentionally doing an unlawful or negligent act which is likely to spread the […]
Read More >

February 26 2022

5 things the Supreme Court said about Police Reforms

The Supreme Court has said that its 2006 judgement of Prakash Singh v. Union of India, which dealt with police reforms, is used only periodically to suit the occasion, and the directions in the judgement have not been implemented seriously.   In this context, let us look at the Supreme Court’s directions in the 2006 […]
Read More >

March 06 2022

Can you file a complaint when the police harass you?

The Delhi High Court condemned the Delhi Police for conducting an illegal raid at 2.30 in the morning. It issued directions for the same. What is police harassment? Police harassment is when a police officer goes beyond their assigned duties to take advantage of a citizen in their official capacity. This can take many forms, […]
Read More >

March 04 2022

Did you know: You cannot apply for default bail after the police have filed the charge-sheet

The Karnataka High Court has clarified that an accused cannot apply for default bail after the police have filed the charge-sheet, even if the police subsequently file a supplementary charge-sheet for additional evidence.    What is default bail? Default bail is the bail an accused is entitled to apply for if the authority prosecuting them […]
Read More >

February 24 2022

From complaint to charge sheet: What happens after you file an FIR with the Police?

The Supreme Court has asked the Maharashtra Police to place on record the second charge sheet filed in the case related to alleged lynching of three people in Palghar district last year.    There are many steps and investigation procedures between registering an FIR and filing the charge sheet. According to the law of criminal […]
Read More >

February 26 2022

What are your rights against torture in police custody?

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an inquiry into the claims of illegal detention and custodial torture of Dalit labour activist Shiv Kumar. In this context, let us look at how Indian law protects an accused against custodial violence.   What does the law say about the police torturing an accused person? A […]
Read More >

February 23 2022

What can you do against Police Inaction?

The Karnataka High Court has directed the station house officer of a Kalaburagi police station to clean the road in front of his police station for one week, after the officer failed to take note of a complaint by a mother whose son was allegedly abducted.    In this context, let us look at the […]
Read More >

February 21 2022

5 important things that the Supreme Court recently said about the Law on Maintenance

The Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement in the case of Rajnesh v. Neha, discussing various aspects of the law on maintenance in India. Here are 5 notable points from the judgement. Claiming maintenance under multiple laws  The following Indian laws provide for maintenance: a) Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA) – Sections 36 and 37 […]
Read More >

February 23 2022

4 Things You Need to Know About Transgender Rights and ID Proof in India

Identification documents play a major role in facilitating your rights such as the right to healthcare, education, etc. and are also important for day-to-day activities such as applying for a SIM Card or a bank account, etc.   Did you know that… …it is your right to get identification documents recognizing the gender you want […]
Read More >