Religion Will Not Be Mentioned In FIRs: Haryana DGP Assures High Court

Haryana DGP has submitted an affidavit before the Punjab & Haryana High Court, ensuring that directions have been issued not to mention the religion of the informant, complainant, victim, and suspect in the First Information Report (FIR), except in situations that are explicitly incorporated.

Taking note of the submission, Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri said, "...it is expected that the DGP, Haryana, Panchkula shall ensure on periodic basis that the instructions issued by him are meticulously complied with in letter and spirit by all the Police Stations/all the Investigating Agencies etc."

In the affidavit, the DGP, Haryana has submitted that, "...it is directed that the religion of the informant/complainant/victim and suspect/accused will not be mentioned in FIR, except in the following situations:"

(i) In case the content of the FIR is reproduction of the information provided by the complainant. "In case the religion of the suspect/accused or any other person is mentioned in the information/complaint, the same is required to be mentioned in the contents o f the FIR also."

(ii) "While registering FIRs for committing offences Ws/ 153-A and 153-B IPC, religion of informant/complainant/victim and suspect/accused person(s) is required to be mentioned. Furthermore, some cases are registered for hurting sentiments of a religious community or desecrating place(s) of their worship. In all such cases, religion of the informant/complainant/victim and those of suspects/accused persons is essential component/ingredient to be mentioned while registering FIR under Sections 295/295A /296/297/298 IPC, for conducting investigation in such cases or in any other case, if required under applicable law."

(iii) "Mentioning religion of a suspect/accused is particularly helpful for the purpose of apprehending them, if they turn Proclaimed Offenders/Bail Jumpers etc. at a later stage as they start living in other states of the country and sometimes even in other countries. Thus, while conducting police proceedings, situations arise where it becomes imperative to mention religion of accused/suspect in order to establish correct identity and to rule out arrest of any innocent person."

(iv) "In the forms/fields/documents in which it is mandatory to mention religion o f the informant/complainant/victim or suspects/accused persons, such as in the form IIF-II (Crime Detail Form), in which mentioning religion of the victim is mandatory."

The development came after the High Court objected to mentioning of a person's religion in the FIR by the Haryana Police.

The Court while hearing an anticipatory bail plea, where a woman was accused of an offence pertaining to money dispute noticed that the Haryana Police had mentioned the religion of persons named in FIR.

The bench recalled that a similar issue had arisen last year in Punjab and subsequently, the Assistant Inspector General of Police and Punjab DGP had filed affidavits that henceforth the religion of a person will not be mentioned in the FIRs.

Court lamented that despite such developments, there is no improvement so far as State of Haryana is concerned. It had therefore directed Haryana's DGP to file an affidavit stating what corrective measures will be taken to ameliorate the situation.

It may be noted that in March 2019, putting an end to a 'colonial legacy' practice of mentioning caste status in criminal proceedings, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that the caste system is profoundly illogical and is also against the basic tenets of the Constitution.

On Wednesday, Supreme Court also deprecated the practice followed by certain Trial Courts and High Court of mentioning the caste or religion of a party in the cause-title of the judgment.

Appearance: Simran Sharma, Advocate for Mr. Rohit Chandel, Advocate for the petitioner.

Pawan Girdhar, Addl. A.G., Haryana and Mr. Naveen Kumar Sheoran, DAG, Haryana.