The Kerala High Court recently reprimanded law enforcement officials for failing to promptly submit reports to public prosecutors in cases brought before the High Court, despite having received orders to do so.

Justice PV Kunhikrishnan noted that in nearly every case, even though the High Court specifically instructs the Public Prosecutor to obtain guidance or information from the relevant police station, such guidance is consistently lacking or not provided. The High Court stated that this situation leads to a significant issue of accumulating pending cases, which in turn hampers the court's ability to handle its daily caseload.

As a result, the High Court issued a directive to the State Police Chief, urging them to provide the required instructions to address this matter. “The State Police Chief is instructed to issue the necessary directives to all police stations across the state, ensuring the immediate submission of any required reports to the concerned Prosecutor. Failure to comply with these directives may lead to severe actions taken by this Court," ordered the Court.

The High Court issued this order during the course of handling a petition in which the Station House Officer at Sreekaryam Police Station had failed to submit a report, despite being given ample time to do so. The Court has granted the Station House Officer at the Sreekaryam Police Station a final opportunity to submit the report by October 26. If the report is not filed by that date, the officer is required to appear in person before the High Court on the specified date.

case: Rajesh and Ors. v State of Kerala & Ors, CRL.MC NO. 7623 OF 2023.

Read/Download Order: Rajesh Vs. State of Kerala