The Gujarat High Court has pulled up the state police, saying it has become a "custom" for the force to file "designed FIRs" in prohibition cases where the accused are shown as having escaped before raids were conducted even when the cops have prior information regarding the movement of liquor, including the exact location and vehicles used for the act.
In its order Friday, in connection with a case dealing with regular bail plea of an accused in a prohibition case, Justice S M Vora said the state government has created no mechanism to monitor "designed FIRs", a year after the court had asked whether it plans to create an "in-house mechanism" to deal with such cases.
The court also asked the state government to furnish information on all such FIRs registered under the provisions of the Gujarat Prohibition Act from May 1, 2018 to May 1, 2019, including the name of the accused escaping and police involved in the raids, to be submitted on or before July 11.
"The flow of designed FIRs is not a recent practice adopted by many police stations, but is in place since long as if it has now become custom while dealing with prior information with regard to movement of liquor in the state," the HC said in its Friday order, while quoting from its previous order in the case.
"Had there been any in-house mechanism to monitor such custom, filing of designed FIRs would have been controlled to great extent and/or police concerned would not have ventured to file such FIR," it said.
"Now, the time has come for the state to step in immediately to take suitable step to ensure that appropriate action is taken on designed FIRs in accordance with law so that such custom to file designed FIRs are suitably monitored/supervised on regular basis," it said.
The case deals with a plea for regular bail filed by one Ibrahim Hasan Kevar, accused under various sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, on the grounds that he was not found at the scene of offence and that the state was delaying trial in the magisterial court.
The FIR was filed at Bhuj B Division police station, and the accused was granted bail by the court in May last year.
While granting him bail on May 9, 2018, the court had asked the state government to furnish details of all such FIRs filed between May 1, 2017, and May 1, 2018, and whether the government was thinking of putting in practice any "in-house mechanism" to monitor such "designed FIRs" (accused escaping despite prior information).
"In large number of FIRs, though the police have prior information of movement of liquor, including exact location and/or vehicle number, as the case may be, the accused could manage to flee from such place/vehicle, sometimes, the female accused also," it had said.
"The court wonders whether the police have prior information or something else. The state, if at all serious to such designed FIRs, which are routinely filed by the police concerned, is required to look into the issue on urgent basis and hope that some sense will prevail with regard to the action to be taken for such designed FIR," the court had observed.
Gujarat has prohibition law that proscribes the manufacture, storage, sale and consumption of alcohol.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
