In a recent development, the Kerala High Court expressed its dissatisfaction with police officials regarding the untimely submission of reports to public prosecutors in cases before the High Court, despite prior directives, as highlighted in the case of Rajesh R v State of Kerala & Ors.. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan pointed out that in nearly all cases, despite the High Court’s explicit instructions for the Public Prosecutor to obtain necessary information from the relevant police station, these instructions were not being adhered to.
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan emphasized the severity of the issue, noting that it was leading to a significant backlog of cases, making it challenging for the Court to effectively manage its daily caseload. Consequently, the High Court issued a directive to the State Police Chief, urging the issuance of necessary guidelines to address the problem at hand.
The court order stated, “The State Police Chief will issue essential instructions to all police stations in the state to promptly submit reports when requested by the concerned prosecutor. Any violation of this directive will result in stringent actions taken by this Court.”
This directive came to light during the handling of a petition in which the Station House Officer at Sreekaryam Police Station failed to submit a report within the stipulated time frame. The Court granted one final opportunity for the said Station House Officer to submit the report by October 26. Failure to comply will require the officer to personally appear before the High Court on the specified date.
