Mumbai: Bombay HC has directed the state govt to pay Rs 20,000 to a father who had to run “from pillar to post” for registration of an FIR over his son’s death by suicide despite a magistrate’s direction to police.
“We find it extremely disturbing that despite an order being passed by the magistrate directing registration of an FIR in June, no FIR has been registered by RAK Marg police station, for no valid reason… The petitioner was constrained to file the petition,” said a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan on Nov 19.
Bengaluru resident Anilkumar Sapare moved HC to direct the senior inspector to comply with the magistrate’s order. His plea said his son, Abhinav, who lived in Sewri, died by suicide on Jan 6 due to the alleged abetment of four persons. Sapare approached RAK Marg police on several occasions to register an FIR and made representations in vain. On April 5, he requested police for the investigation report and footage from CCTV cameras installed in Abhinav’s office from Dec 27, 2023, to Jan 5, which, he said, would show how his son was harassed. No details were furnished to him.
Sapare then approached the 13th metropolitan magistrate, who on June 22 directed police to register an FIR and submit a report after the investigation. His advocate said despite submitting the magistrate’s order to police, no step was taken to register the FIR.
When the judges questioned senior inspector Sandip Randive whether he was aware of the case and the magistrate’s order, “he disclosed to us that he learnt about the case and order of the magistrate only [that day] after he went through the papers”. Randive said the FIR would be lodged latest by Nov 21.
“Considering the manner in which the petitioner was constrained to run from pillar to post”, HC directed govt “to pay costs of Rs 20,000 to the petitioner within four weeks”. In order to fix responsibility for the delay, it told DCP (zone 4) to initiate a departmental inquiry and “accordingly, recover Rs 20,000 costs from the salary of the person/persons responsible”.