Chandigarh, March 5: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has pulled up the police for procedural lapses in handling false complaints, directing the state police chief to ensure officers are properly trained on mandatory statutory bars.
Justice Sumeet Goel maintained that investigating agencies frequently ignore legal safeguards, such as Section 195 of the CrPC, which stipulates that certain offences can only be prosecuted upon a complaint by a specific public servant. The court noted that these requirements are not mere formalities but essential jurisdictional conditions that protect the sanctity of judicial proceedings.
“Regrettably, it has been observed that these procedural mandates are frequently bypassed or treated with a sense of casual indifference,” Justice Goel stated.
The ruling was delivered in a matter involving a complaint against a judicial officer regarding an OBC certificate. While the police attempted to prosecute the complainant for giving false information, the court found the method used—a Kalandra under the Punjab Police Act—to be a “brutum fulmen” or harmless thunder that wasted judicial resources.
“Where the offence is directed against the lawful authority of a public servant or the sanctity of judicial proceedings, there is often no ‘individual victim’ to pursue the cause,” Justice Goel affirmed, adding that the state must not act with lethargy in such solemn obligations.
While the court quashed the existing proceedings, it clarified that the state remains free to initiate fresh action as long as it adheres strictly to the law. The DGP has been tasked with ensuring that the force is sensitised to prevent such “procedural dereliction” in the future.
