Investigations in 565 FIRs in Amritsar (Rural) have remained pending for more than three years, 1,168 accused have not been arrested for over three years, only 48 accused have been declared proclaimed offenders/persons and files of investigating officers in 80 cases are still missing.Describing the situation as “painful” and “shocking”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has severely reprimanded the police administration, while making it clear that the law enforcement and investigating agency was expected to conclude the pending probes and arrest the absconders by mid-October.Observing that the “police machinery in police district, Amritsar (Rural) has completely collapsed”, Justice N.S. Shekhawat widened the scrutiny to the entire State. The Bench ordered a State-wide exercise to identify and expedite every criminal investigation pending for more than three years.Justice Shekhawat also directed all SSPs and Commissioners of Police in Punjab to submit details of such cases, explain the reasons for delay, convene meetings of all SHOs and issue directions to expedite investigations.Justice Shekhawat further made it clear that Punjab DGP was expected to convene a virtual meeting of all SSPs and Commissioners of Police every Monday and submit a report by affidavit. “It is also expected that on or before the next date of hearing, all the investigations, which are pending for the last more than three years, shall be concluded. Moreover, it is also expected that all the accused, who are absconding for the last more than three years, shall be arrested at the earliest,” the Bench asserted.Justice Shekhawat added any accused not arrested by the police would be immediately declared a proclaimed person/offender and their properties would be attached and auctioned through the process of the Court.The state-wide directions followed the court’s scrutiny of a murder case in Amritsar (Rural). On July 23, the court had taken cognizance of the fact that accused named in the FIR registered on September 1, 2023, under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC at Kamboj police station in Amritsar (Rural) had not been arrested for more than two years. Justice Shekhawat on a previous date of hearing observed that the petitioner was arrested soon after the court passed its order. But the controversy in the case highlighted inordinate delay in investigating. “Even in several other cases, this Court has noticed that the investigation in this police district is pending for the last several years and the accused are roaming free,” the Court had observed.An affidavit was then filed by the SSP, Amritsar (Rural), after information was collected and consolidated from all police stations in the districtAs the case came up for resumed hearing, Justice Shekhawat referred to the data before describing the scenario as “painful” and shocking. The Bench also took note of the State counsel’s contention that some of the accused had even left the country.“However, no efforts have been made in the last three years to get these accused declared as proclaimed offenders or proclaimed persons, nor any steps have been taken to get their properties attached and auctioned through process of the court. It also clearly shows that the supervisory officers of such police stations were highly negligent in performing their duties and even the SSPs, who remained posted in the respective districts in the last three years have failed to take cognizance of these facts,” Justice Shekhawat added.Before parting with the order, the Bench directed all SSPs and Commissioners of Police in Punjab to file a list of all cases in their jurisdictions where investigations in criminal cases were pending for more than three years.They were also directed to mention the reasons for the delay and convene meetings of all SHOs in their districts to issue appropriate directions for expediting investigations in all criminal cases registered in their police stations.The status reports, to be filed by affidavit before the next date of hearing, was directed to contain details of each criminal case, including FIR number, date of registration, offences alleged and police station; names and details of all accused.The Bench also called for information on names and details of accused arrested and the dates of their arrest. The report was further directed to specify: “Whether the accused were absconding and whether they had been declared proclaimed offenders/persons; whether steps had been taken to get the properties of proclaimed offenders/persons attached through the process of the court; and whether investigating officers’ files had been misplaced and details of such files”. The matter has been listed for October 14.