SC asks IGPs, prosecutor generals to end FIR delays

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has held that refusal or delay in lodging an FIR in a criminal case is seen to be an abuse of powers to the advantage or in favour of the powerful and privileged.

The court expected that the police chiefs of all the provinces will take effective steps in order to ensure that there is no refusal or delay in the registration of cases.

The court also expected that the “prosecutor generals of the respective governments to advise the police authorities and frame standard operating procedures in accordance with the mandate of the Cr.P.C.”

A three-member bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah, and including Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, issued a detailed judgment in a murder case.

The court on May 21, 2025 had acquitted the accused Seeta Ram from the charge framed against him by extending the benefit of doubt as of right and he was ordered to be released, if not required to be incarcerated in any other matter.

The court had allowed the appeal against the judgment of March 15, 2023 of the Sindh High Court, Circuit Court, Hyderabad, passed in the case titled Seeta Ram versus the State.

The 30-page detailed judgment authored by Justice Athar Minallah held that the delay in registration of a case raises the probability of false implication of an accused or an opportunity to manipulate and manage the evidence by bringing it in line with the prosecution’s story e.g with the findings of the autopsy, etc.

The court noted that the delay gives an opportunity of prior consultation and deliberations and, therefore, the possibility of false implication and manipulation cannot be ruled out.

The court observed that the widespread phenomenon of refusal or considerable delay in the registration of FIRs i.e entry of the substance of information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence in the prescribed register as mandated under Section 154 of the Cr.P.C.

“This phenomenon has been observed invariably in most of the cases which emanate from the province of Sindh,” the court ruled, adding that this case is only a tip of the iceberg and it reflects adversely on the status of the criminal justice system.

The court noted that registration of FIRs and the ensuing investigations till filing of the respective reports under section 173 of the Cr. P.C is exclusively an executive function and one of the most crucial and fundamental components of the criminal justice system.

The court, however, noted that the phenomenon of refusal to or delay in registration of a criminal case under section 154 has been invariably observed in cases affecting the rights of the most vulnerable, marginalised or underprivileged classes of the society. “The phenomenon is seen to be an abuse of powers to the advantage or in favor of the powerful and privileged”, says the judgment

The court held that when the police authorities disregard their duties and functions mandated under the provisions of the Cr.P.C, they are then perceived as being used by the powerful and privileged to maintain a repressive social and political control over the people. “This perception manifests that the Constitution is being gravely violated”, says the judgment.

The court expected that the Inspector Generals of Police of all the provinces will take effective steps in order to ensure that there is no refusal or delay in the registration of cases under section 154 of the Cr.P.C if the information relates to the commission of a cognizable offence.