FIR must be lodged against police official who assaulted a dog: Court

New Delhi: A court here has directed that an FIR be registered against a police official for allegedly assaulting a dog and said giving a clean chit to an accused, without lodging a police report, could result in “disastrous consequences, further quelling the faith of the common man in the administration of criminal justice”.

The court also observed that police often resort to “bypassing” the law by preparing closure reports under the title of inquiry, prior to the registration of an FIR. Metropolitan Magistrate Bharat Aggarwal was hearing two applications seeking directions for the registration of an FIR against ASI Ravindra, posted at the Jafrabad police station here, for “mercilessly” beating up a dog with a lathi on January 10 last year.

A video purportedly of the incident had gone viral on social media platforms.

“Preparation of closure reports prior to registration of an FIR with the title of ‘inquiry’ is impermissible, yet often resorted to by the police, bypassing the procedure prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC),” the magistrate said in an order passed on February 13.

He also said the role of police is limited to the execution of the law and does not involve interpreting it.

“The procedure of conducting inquiries and handing over clean chits to the proposed accused without even registering an FIR and without conducting an investigation in the prescribed manner can lead to disastrous consequences, further quelling the faith of the common man in the administration of criminal justice,” the magistrate said.