HC raps Punjab cops for 18-year delay in FIR closure, slaps 1 lakh cost on state

CHANDIGARH: Coming down heavily on Punjab Police for failing to submit cancellation of an FIR that had been pending unresolved for 18 years, Punjab and Haryana high court imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on state.

HC ordered Rs 25,000 be paid to the petitioner, and the rest be deposited in Punjab State Legal Services Authority's disaster relief fund. Court also directed departmental proceedings against the "delinquent officers in right earnest".HC told Punjab DGP to submit a compliance report within 90 days while warning of punitive consequences for failure. "The corrective circular issued by police must not remain a mere paper directive but be effectively implemented," it stated.Condemning the delay, Justice Sumeet Goel observed the state's sovereign power to prosecute was "a solemn public trust" that must be exercised with 'diligence and transparency'. "Discretionary powers cannot become an instrument of arbitrariness," HC warned, citing Lord Halsbury's dictum that discretion must align with "reason and justice, not private opinion or humour". "The case in hand is an unsoothing illustration of lack of due diligence, reflective of an apathetic approach.

Such lethargic conduct can only be curbed if courts adopt an institutional approach which penalises such comportment," he remarked while imposing costs on the state.Justice Goel was disposing of a petition filed by Kimti Lal Bhagat concerning an FIR dated Aug 9, 2007, at Jalandhar under IPC sections 323, 341, 506, and 34. Though the matter was amicably resolved between complainant and the accused soon after registration, and police prepared a cancellation report as early as 2007-2009, they inexplicably failed to present it in court.Aggrieved by the delay, Bhagat approached HC. His petition said despite repeated representations, the report remained in limbo, causing undue harassment. The state, through an affidavit filed by DGP Yadav, admitted lapses and confirmed that the cancellation report was finally presented before the trial court on Aug 22, 2025, following HC intervention.The DGP's affidavit revealed crucial case files went missing and officials responsible for the lapse, including then SHO and MHC, had long since retired, making departmental action time-barred. A show-cause notice was issued to Parminder Singh, PPS, now DCP (law and order), Ludhiana, for supervisory lapses.