Madras High Court summons T.N. Home Secretary over lapses in policing

The Madras HC summoned TN Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar on Friday to apprise it of numerous cases wherein the police did not register FIRs promptly, complete the investigation within a reasonable time, or file the final reports.

The Madras High Court summoned Tamil Nadu Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar on Friday (January 30, 2025) to apprise it of numerous cases wherein the police did not register First Information Reports (FIRs) promptly on receipt of criminal complaints, complete the investigation within a reasonable time, or file the final reports before the jurisdictional magistrates concerned.

Justice P. Velmurugan wrote: “This court does not know as to whether the concerned Secretary to Government is aware of the illegal practice prevailing in the police department, which are causing much inconvenience to the poor litigant/public and hence, this court is directing the Home Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, to appear before this court on January 31, 2025.”

The interim order was passed on a petition filed by P. Sundar, 53, a dealer of building construction materials at Virugambakkam in Chennai. The petitioner said that he had taken a vacant land on rent about 12 years ago to utilise it as a godown. In 2007, he offered to purchase the property for a total consideration of ₹25 lakh and claimed to have paid ₹12.5 lakh in advance.

However, the landlord, in a volte-face after the acceptance of the advance amount, began demanding ₹60 lakh before the execution of the sale deed, he alleged. The petitioner also said that he had filed a civil suit in 2013 and obtained an interim injunction against evicting him from the property. In 2015, some goons trespassed into his godown and damaged property, he said.

Though an FIR was registered immediately with regard to the attack, the Virugambakkam police had not completed the investigation and filed a final report even after nine years, he complained. On the other hand, the prosecution told the court that the FIR was closed in 2015, but the negative final report was not filed before the jurisdictional judicial magistrate concerned.

Irked over the submission, Justice Velmurugan said, this was not an isolated incident. He pointed out that the High Court was flooded with petitions seeking directions to the police to either register FIRs or to complete the investigation and file final reports, though it was the statutory obligation of the police personnel to perform such actions without expecting court orders to do so.

The judge went on to express his anguish that even in cases where the courts issue specific directions to complete the investigation and file final reports, the police do not obey its orders. Stating that only people with the economic wherewithal would be able to file such petitions and obtain directions, the judge said that the plight of the poor was worse.