Complaint Against Police — Advocate at Asansol Court

Section 173 of the Sanhita requires that information about a cognizable offence be recorded, read over to the informant and signed, with a free copy given at once. The provision applies irrespective of where the offence was committed, so a zero FIR can be registered at any police station and later transferred. For offences punishable between three and seven years, a preliminary enquiry is permitted only with the prior permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, and it must conclude within fourteen days.

If the officer refuses, Section 173(4) gives you the right to send the substance of the information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police. If the Superintendent is satisfied that a cognizable offence is disclosed, he must investigate himself or direct a subordinate officer to do so. Keep proof of posting and a copy of the letter, because the next step depends on showing that this remedy was exhausted.

If the Superintendent of Police also fails to act, Section 175(3) of the Sanhita allows you to apply to the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance, seeking a direction to investigate. The application must be supported by an affidavit and must place on record the earlier application to the Superintendent of Police. The Magistrate may hold an inquiry and must consider the police officer's submissions before passing an order.

The application should set out the facts, the offence disclosed, the date of the police complaint, the refusal and the complaint to the Superintendent. Attach copies of every representation and its postal receipt. A vague application that does not show what cognizable offence is made out is likely to be dismissed. For an Asansol complainant, the application is filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Asansol.

For misconduct short of a refusal to register an FIR, the first step is a written complaint to the officer in charge, and if that fails, to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer and the Superintendent of Police. Asansol falls within the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate, so the complaint may also go to the Commissioner. A written complaint creates a record, and a record is what makes departmental action possible.

The complaint should be factual and specific: date, time, place, the name or buckle number of the officer, the words used and the witnesses present. Avoid adjectives and conclusions. Ask for a receipt or send it by registered post. If no action follows, an application under the Right to Information Act can be used to find out what inquiry, if any, was conducted on your complaint.

The West Bengal Human Rights Commission can inquire into complaints of violation of human rights by public servants, including the police. Complaints of illegal detention, custodial violence, failure to produce an arrested person before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours, and denial of medical care fall within its scope. The Commission can call for reports, summon officers and recommend compensation and departmental action.

A complaint should be filed promptly, with a clear chronology and copies of all representations. The Commission generally expects the complainant to have approached the police hierarchy first, and it may decline a matter that is already before a court. Its recommendations are advisory, but a report from the Commission carries weight in later criminal or writ proceedings and often produces a departmental inquiry that the police would otherwise avoid.

Complaints to the Commission can be filed online or by post, and no fee is charged. The complaint should identify the victim, the officers and the date, and should state which right was violated. Where the Commission registers the matter, it usually calls for a report from the Superintendent of Police within a fixed time. Follow up in writing if no report is received, and keep the file number for later proceedings.

Some misconduct is itself an offence. A public servant who knowingly disobeys the law intending to cause injury commits an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and a police officer who fabricates evidence or frames a person faces separate provisions. Where the facts disclose such an offence, a private complaint can be filed before the Magistrate at Asansol, who may take cognizance and proceed.

Prosecution of a police officer for acts done in the discharge of official duty usually requires prior sanction from the government, and the court will examine this at the cognizance stage. That does not make the complaint futile; it means the complaint must be drafted to show that the act was outside the lawful discharge of duty. An Asansol lawyer can frame the complaint so that it survives the sanction objection.