The Punjab Government has informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that investigation is still pending in 3,888 FIRs after over three years. The submission came as Justice NS Shekhawat’s Bench took on record an affidavit filed by the Punjab Director-General of Police (DGP) in compliance with a previous order passed on May 28.Appearing before the Bench, the state counsel submitted that the number of FIRs pending for over three years stood at 4,591 when the case came up for hearing on May 28. But chargesheets, cancellation reports or “untraced” reports had been filed in 703 such cases since then. The counsel assured the Bench that every effort would be made to conclude investigation in the remaining 3,888 FIRs.Fixing the matter for further hearing on September 15, Justice Shekhawat’s Bench directed the filing of a fresh status report by way of an affidavit by the Director-General of Police before the next date of hearing. The information provided to the Bench is a part ofcontinuous judicial scrutiny into the alarming backlog of criminal investigations in Punjab.On a previous date of hearing, Justice Shekhawat had expressed shock that investigation into cases registered in 2013 was still pending. “In several cases, the files of the investigating officers are missing for the last more than 10 years and it has been stated that the police file is under reconstruction.In a few cases, it has been found that the doctor’s opinion with regard tothe injuries suffered by the victims have not been obtained for the past more than four years. Still further, in most of the cases, no efforts have been made to arrest the accused and thousands of criminals are on the run in one district of Punjab,” Justice Shekhawat had asserted.
Probe into 3,888 FIRs pending for 3 years, HC told
