CITIZEN-THREATENING AND CITIZEN –INTIMIDATING FIR OF DELHI POLICE

V.SUNDARAM I.A.S.

ALL INDIA GENERAL SECRETARY(Ideology), JANATA PARTY

Yesterday (Saturday, 8^th of October 2011) Dr.Subramanian Swamy had given an ultimatum to the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police that he would move the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court pleading that the Delhi Police are guilty of gross contempt of the Delhi High Court for their failure to post a copy of the FIR against Dr.Swamy on Police Website within 24 hrs. of its registration on 27^th August 2011. Dr.Swamy told the Press yesterday (Saturday, 8^th of October 2011) that the Police had not only failed to publish the FIR against him on their website till yesterday morning but that they had failed even to hand over a hard copy of the FIR to him till yesterday morning.

Dr.Swamy told the Press yesterday that the Delhi Police had miserably failed to comply with the Orders of the Delhi High Court issued on 7^th December 2010, to the Delhi Police to the  effect that they should start uploading all First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in the city onto its website within 24 hours of filing. The police are required to implement the order from February 1, 2011. The Delhi Police, fully backed by the transitory and purely momentary official and political might of Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi, have had the audacity not to publish the FIR against Dr.Swamy on their website till yesterday morning. They had registered this FIR based on a complaint received from Central Minorities Commission on 27^th August 2011 and as per directions of the Delhi High Court they ought to have published or posted this FIR on the 28^th of August 2011 itself. Their deliberate criminal failure to treat the Orders of the Delhi High Court with supreme contempt deserves condign punishment under the Law.

I am presenting below the Media Reports relating to the Orders of the Delhi High Court regarding FIRs issued on 7^th December 2010.

Put all new FIRs online: Delhi HC

TNN Dec 7, 2010, 01.18am IST

NEW DELHI: In a major move towards transparency in police functioning, the high court has directed the Delhi Police to start uploading all First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in the city onto its website within 24 hours of filing. The police are required to implement the order from February 1, 2011.

The landmark order, passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan, said it's the duty of the police to provide information and the accused does not need to move court to get a copy of an FIR.

"Fair and impartial investigation is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution and presumption as regards the innocence of an accused is a right. Therefore, a person booked under criminal law has a right to know the nature of allegations so that he can take necessary steps to safeguard his liberty," the bench said.

Earlier, additional solicitor general A S Chandiok and amicus curie Arvind Nigam submitted their suggestions on the matter.

The counsel had said that recording of an FIR was an official act of a public official in discharge of his or her official duties and, therefore, it was a public document within the meaning of Section 74 of the Evidence Act, 1872.

The court said an accused was entitled to get a copy of the FIR earlier than what's prescribed under Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (which says the FIR would be supplied through a magistrate's order after the accused moves court).

NEW DELHI: In a major move towards transparency in police functioning, the high court has directed the Delhi Police to start uploading all First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in the city onto its website within 24 hours of filing. The police are required to implement the order from February 1, 2011.

The landmark order, passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan, said it's the duty of the police to provide information and the accused does not need to move court to get a copy of an FIR.

"Fair and impartial investigation is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution and presumption as regards the innocence of an accused is a right. Therefore, a person booked under criminal law has a right to know the nature of allegations so that he can take necessary steps to safeguard his liberty," the bench said.

Earlier, additional solicitor general A S Chandiok and amicus curie Arvind Nigam submitted their suggestions on the matter.

The counsel had said that recording of an FIR was an official act of a public official in discharge of his or her official duties and, therefore, it was a public document within the meaning of Section 74 of the Evidence Act, 1872.

 
The court said an accused was entitled to get a copy of the FIR earlier than what's prescribed under Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (which says the FIR would be supplied through a magistrate's order after the accused moves court).

After Dr.Subramanian Swamy had told the Press that he would move the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court of India through a Petition complaining against the Delhi Police for their gross contempt of the Orders issued by the Delhi High Court on 7^th December 2010 regarding Posting of FIRs online, their were many Media Reports  which carried Dr.Swamy’s legal threat to the Delhi Police. I am presenting below a few of these Media Reports.

Swamy to move court

Almost two weeks after the Delhi Police registered a case against him for spreading enmity between communities, Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy on Saturday threatened to move court against Delhi Police for not posting the FIR on its official website.

Terming the matter as contempt of the Delhi High Court Order, Swamy said he will move a petition either in the High Court or in the Supreme Court on Monday.

Swamy said he had also written to Police Chief BK Gupta and sought a copy of the FIR but has not been provided with it.

"The courts recognise that law of torts provides for a suit against misfeasance in performance of duty and therefore the police's failure to act as per the provisions of Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution will invite a suit of damages against Delhi Police," he said.

Swamy threatens to move court against Delhi Police

New Delhi, Oct 8, (PTI):

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today threatened to move court against Delhi Police if it does not provide to him by tomorrow a copy of the FIR registered against him for spreading enmity between communities.

In a letter to Police Commissioner B K Gupta, Swamy said he had already sought a copy of the FIR but has not been provided with it.

"The courts have now come to recognise that law of torts provides for a suit against misfeasance in performance of duty and therefore the police failure to act according to the provisions of Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution will invite a suit of damages against Delhi Police," Swamy said.

He also said the FIR was registered on September 26 or 27 according to media reports and it was more than two months after a controversial article written by him was published.

"Hence you are required to give a satisfactory explanation for the delay and if the said explanation is not satisfactory in court, it will vitiate the FIR itself, and liable to be quashed," he said.

Delhi Police had recently registered a case of spreading enmity between communities against Swamy for his certain suggestions made by him.

The Crime Branch registerd a case under Section 153A (spreading enmity between communities) of Indian Penal Code for his newspaper article in July this year.

India

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today asked Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta to provide him the copy of FIR registered against him for spreading enmity between communities. Please refer to my letter to you dated October 6, 2011 regarding making available to me the FIR, registered with me as accused for writing an article published in a newspaper on July 16, Dr Swamy said in his letter to the Delhi Police chief. Dr Swamy, former law minister, said 48 hours have elapsed since his last letter but no copy of the FIR has yet made available to him. He said it has been held in several judgements of the Supreme Court and the High Courts that an FIR is a public document within the meaning of Section 74 of the Evidence Act (1872). Dr Swamy added that the FIR was registered more than two months after his article was published in the newspaper. You are required to give a satisfactory explanation for the delay and if the said explanation is not satisfactory in court, it will vitiate the FIR itself and liable to be quashed, he said.

After all the unnecessary hangama created by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, the Delhi Police finally handed over a Copy of the FIR to Dr.Subramanian Swamy this morning (Sunday 9^th of October 2011) in a graceless manner. I have just now received the following message from Dr.Swamy:

HAPPY TO SAY THAT THE POLICE HAVE COMPLIED WITH MY ULTIMATUM AND SUPPLIED ME A COPY OF THE FIR TODAY. IT WAS REGISTERED ON A COMPLAINT OF THE MINORITY COMMISSION ON AUGUST 27th! WHAT WERE THEY DOING ALL THIS TIME FLOUTING THE 24 HOUR RULE OF THE DELHI HIGH COURT ORDER ? GROSS CONTEMPT. SWAMY.

Conclusion

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police is guilty of Gross Contempt of the Orders of the Delhi High Court issued on 7^th December 2010. Nothing can destroy a Government more quickly than its failure to observe its own Laws, or worse, its disregard of the Charter of its own existence.

In this context, the timeless observations of Hon’ble Justice Brandeis (1856-1941) in Olmstead vs the United States, 277 US. 438, 485 in 1928: “Our Government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. If the Government becomes the Law-Breaker, it breeds contempt for LAW; it invites every man to become a LAW unto himself, it invites ANARCHY”.