Madurai High Court Takes Strong Stand Against Police Negligence
The Madras High Court has delivered a stern warning about the dangerous practice of police stations retaining FIRs for extended periods without forwarding them to concerned courts. Justice B Pugalendhi emphasized that this erosion of procedural integrity fundamentally undermines judicial supervision and compromises the entire investigation process.
The Case That Exposed Systemic Failures
The court's observations came during hearing of a petition filed by R Paulpandi, one of the accused in a criminal case originally registered by the Theni police back in 2018. The petitioner had applied for a certified copy of the FIR before the Theni judicial magistrate, but his request was returned with an endorsement stating the FIR was simply not available in court records.
This prompted Paulpandi to file a miscellaneous petition seeking permission to proceed without the certified FIR copy while filing to quash the FIR against him. During proceedings, the police inspector involved offered a startling explanation - the FIR had been mixed up with old records during renovation work at the police station, which allegedly prevented its forwarding to the jurisdictional court.
Disciplinary Action and Systemic Review Ordered
The additional superintendent of police submitted a status report confirming that disciplinary action has been initiated against the inspector responsible for the failure to send the FIR to the appropriate court. According to the report, the FIR was eventually manually produced before the court in June 2025, while the final report had been filed through e-filing systems.
Justice Pugalendhi described the situation as a glaring instance of failure to follow elementary safeguards. The court proactively sought data from all police stations within the Madurai bench jurisdiction, comparing numbers of FIRs registered versus those actually received by courts. This comparison revealed clear discrepancies, though the exact extent varied across different stations.
Court Mandates Coordinated District Exercise
Recognizing the systemic nature of the problem, the court has directed a coordinated exercise in each district under the Madurai bench jurisdiction. This initiative will be conducted jointly by district police heads and concerned judicial officers with the specific purpose of identifying and rectifying discrepancies in the FIR forwarding process.
The court has further mandated that reports from these review meetings must be forwarded to the registrar (judicial) of the Madurai bench through respective principal district judges to ensure proper monitoring of compliance. This structured approach aims to create accountability and prevent similar procedural lapses in the future.
Since the FIR in Paulpandi's case has now been placed before the court, the judge allowed the miscellaneous petition and dispensed with the requirement for producing a certified copy. The registry has been directed to number the petition seeking to quash the FIR and list the matter before the appropriate bench for further proceedings.
