Court slams Police: 'Honourable' omission for Union Minister's name in FIR sparks fury

Prayagraj (The Uttam Hindu): The Allahabad High Court has strongly reprimanded the Uttar Pradesh Police, expressing strong objection to their working style. The case relates to the manner in which an FIR was registered, in which the court asked the police why the respectful words "Mr." or "Hon'ble" were not used before the name of a Union Minister. The court has directly sought an explanation from the state's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) regarding this serious negligence. Interestingly, the FIR does not contain any allegations against the Union Minister; rather, his name is merely mentioned in the complaint.

It is the responsibility of the police to follow the protocol

A bench of Justices JJ Munir and Tarun Saxena was hearing a petition seeking quashing of an FIR registered in a case of intimidation and breach of trust. Upon seeing the FIR, the judges questioned the police's drafting. The court stated that the state's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) must provide an affidavit explaining why the Union Minister's name was not accompanied by a respectful term like "Honourable," while in one instance, the name was written directly without the "Mr." The court clearly stated that even if the complainant had not spelled the minister's name correctly, it was the police's responsibility to follow protocol when registering the case and include the respectful term, even if it was in brackets.

There is a case of fraud and threat of Rs 80 lakh

In the FIR that has sparked this debate, the complainant alleges fraud of lakhs of rupees. According to the complaint, the accused took a hefty sum of 80 lakh rupees from him under the pretext of getting him a job. When the money was demanded back, the accused not only refused to return it but also threatened to kill the complainant. It was in this complaint that the minister's name was mentioned. The court will now hear the petition seeking quashing of this FIR on April 6th.

Strict court directive on honeytrap cases

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court has also taken a very strict stance against honeytrap gangs active in the state. The court has directed the Inspector General of Police (IG) to alert the police captains of all districts to keep a close watch on such gangs. The judges made a harsh comment, saying that if this game of trapping and blackmailing innocent people through women continues like this, then it will become difficult to live in a civilized society. In fact, in a case related to Bijnor, the complainant had alleged that after having physical relations with a woman in a hotel, video clips were made of her and then a ransom of Rs 8 to 10 lakh was demanded in exchange for settling the case.