JIJU LUKOSE Vs. STATE OF KERALA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Writ Petition has been filed asa public interest litigation seeking a direction to upload the copy of the FIR in the website of the police station and to make available copies of the FIR to the accused immediately on registration of the FIR.

(2.) Petitioner in the Writ Petition has narrated the circumstances and the background facts for filing this public interest litigation. Petitioner, a resident of Ettumanoor was made an accused in C.C. No.567 of 2013 alleging offence under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code at the instance of the petitioner's wife. Petitioner's parents are senior citizens and on registration of the FIR, the family members were called upon to come to the police station. Although the FIR was registered on 21.12.2012, petitioner could obtain a copy of the FIR only after two months. Till the petitioner could obtain a copy of the FIR, the petitioner and his family members were in dark about the nature of the allegations levelled against the petitioner. Petitioner is in a job at the United States of America. Petitioner's case in the Writ Petition is that the accused has no way of knowing whether the complaint levelled against him is false or not. Once the FIR is lodged, unless the accused has good contacts in police station there is no way of knowing even the number of the FIR. Delay in getting copies of the FIR by the accused and delay in filing FIR in Court gives opportunity for falsification of the FIR including modifying the FIR. There should be transparency with regard to registering a crime and furnishing copy of the FIR and also uploading in the website. According to Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short, "the Cr.P.C."), an accused is entitled for supply of copies of the FIR free of cost only when proceedings are instituted by the Magistrate in the Court on the basis of police report.

(3.) A statementdated 13.03.2015 as well as additional counter affidavit dated 10.06.2015 had been filed by the 1st respondent, the State Government. It is stated in the statement that provisions of the Cr.P.C. does not envisage supply of copy of FIR to the accusedon registration of the FIR.Section 207 of the Cr.P.C. envisages supply of FIR only by the Magistrate in any case where the proceedings had been initiated on a police report and not otherwise. The Government have decided that it would not be advisable to take any policy decision to have all the FIRs uploaded in the website of the police station concerned immediately on registration of the same. Decision on matters as to which are the kinds of cases in which FIRs could be uploaded and at what stage, etc., are one which require deeper analysis and decisions thereon can be taken only after deliberations at various levels and hence the Government have not yet taken any policy decision to accede to the request of the petitioner to have the copy of the FIR uploaded in the website on registration of the same. In the counter affidavit it has further been pleaded that although in technical sense the FIR is a public document, it cannot be made available online for visibility to the public as a routine measure. The first information received will be discreet especially in cases involving national and international security. The uploading of FIR in the website can also become defamatory, harassing and intrusion upon the privacy of the individuals. This will be especially so in the case of sexual offences and the FIR is covered by the exemption provided under Section 8(1)(h) of the 2005 Act which need not be disclosed to the public till investigation is completed.