Festivals or not, FIRs have to be registered: HC

MUMBAI: A division bench of justices Bilal Nazki and Sharad Bobde of the Bombay high court recently held that the police cannot delay registrations of the FIR on account of any event or festival.
Samajwadi party member Sohail Asgar Rizwi had filed a petition alleging that though a report of assault on Dawood Seth, his party leader Jameel Merchant’s relative, by members of Congress was given to the police in October 2007, the case was registered by the Malwani police only on December 29, 2007.
Rizwi said on October 7, 2007, he and his co-workers were putting up posters of Merchant when Aslam Shaikh, a Congress corporator, and his men demanded they remove the posters. According to Rizwi, they were carrying arms like a revolver, iron rods and sura.
The Malwani police, instead of recording the complaint made by Rizwi, lodged a complaint against Rizwi and his co-workers for attempting to murder Aslam’s man. When Rizwi pursued the case against Shaikh, the Malwani police filed an FIR against unknown persons for rioting and simple hurt. Rizwi moved the high court alleging connivance between Shaikh and the police. The police, however, said the offence was not registered due to Bakr Id.
The court also ordered the commissioner of police to appoint a DCP-level officer to conduct an inquiry against a Malwani police officer, Chandrakant Nath Gurav, who allegedly did not register the case against Shaikh.
Menaka Rao Monday, March 24, 2008 03:54 IST
DNAINDIA.COM