Chandigarh- The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed surprise at the backlog of criminal investigations in Amritsar district alone, where 1338 FIRs are pending for more than three years and thousands of accused are absconding. Condemning the lack of police oversight, Justice NS Shekhawat has directed Punjab to submit a list of all IPS officers who have served as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSPs) and Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) in Amritsar since 2013, so that appropriate disciplinary/legal action can be taken against all of them.
Justice Shekhawat also directed the Director General of Punjab Police to submit an affidavit listing all the cases in the state where investigations are pending for more than three years.
The bench said that the court is surprised to find that the investigation is still pending in cases registered in the year 2013. In many cases, the files of the investigating officers are missing for more than 10 years and it has been stated that the police file is under reconstruction. In some cases, it has been found that the doctor's opinion regarding the injuries of the victims has not been obtained for more than four years. In most cases, no efforts have been made to arrest the accused and thousands of criminals are absconding in one district of Punjab.
Pointing out the systemic failure to ensure that the accused are brought to justice, the court stressed, “It is also clear from the record that no action was taken to declare the absconding accused as absconders and no attempt was made to attach their properties.”
Taking serious note of this, the court asked the DGP to personally monitor the investigation and ensure that the cases are conducted in a fair manner instead of being closed in a hurry.
Justice Shekhawat also ordered the DGP to initiate disciplinary, legal or criminal action against the officers found guilty of destroying police records or making investigation files disappear. The next hearing of the case has been posted on March 28.