Trashing data on cases’ outcome, court sets up panel to improve investigation

Justice Anand Venkatesh on holding that it goes without saying that the quality of investigation has come down drastically and the data provided by the police, makes it evident, said, “The alacrity shown by the police in registering FIR and effecting arrest, is not seen in investigating the case, laying final report and taking the case to its logical end.”

Pointing out the police are under the impression that their work gets over with registering FIR and effecting arrest, the judge dealt in detail the pattern that has emerged in the registration of FIRs. He said there is a clear tendency to keep adding FIR’s against a person who is caught in a crime, more so in cases of theft, robbery, NDPS offences, Prohibition offences etc., and petty crimes, where it is done for the purpose of statistics.

Similarly, in cases where persons are involved in serious crimes like murder and dacoity, the police keep adding FIRs against these persons for criminal intimidation, attempt to murder, grievous hurt, involving more number of accused persons and add these persons based on alleged confession of co-accused to create a ground for detaining them under the preventive detention laws and thereby ensure that these accused persons don’t come out of jail for some time.

Unfortunately, in most of these cases, this court was able to notice that the accused persons were in the age group of 19-25 years, Justice Anand Venkatesh noted while adding that “Once a criminal always a criminal” is the result of the present system prevailing in this state.

Also, citing the statistics published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) wherein Tamil Nadu tops the list in preventive detention, the judge said, “Preventive detention law has become a shield for shabby and defective policing. The very fact that Tamil Nadu has retained its unenviable first place in the number of detenues in all States would clearly show that law and order in this State is clearly resting on ricketyfoundations.”

Further, observing that instead of finding a complete cure for the disease, police seem to be looking for temporary solutions without curing the disease, Justice Anand Venkatesh directed the committee comprising R Nataraj, DGP (retd), V Sithanan, Superintendent of Police (Retd), N R Elango, Senior Advocate, K V Kishore Kumar, Director, the Banyan and M Sudhakar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anna Nagar District, to come up with reforms that can create a healthy Criminal Justice System in Tamil Nadu. He also sought the committee to obtain fresh data regards conviction from every district and submit the final data separately along with the report within eight weeks.