New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday denied more time to an SHO to register an FIR against three Delhi Police officers, including a DCP.
However, in the interest of justice, the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Apoorv Bhardwaj stated that the time taken in the disposal of the current application could be accommodated. The SHO was directed to register the FIR within five working days from Friday.
The complainant’s counsels, advocates Sanjay Sharma and Karan Sachdeva, argued that the time granted for compliance cannot ordinarily be extended by the court, as it would amount to a review of its order.
“The court may only extend time for compliance in case of any practical or technical difficulty being faced by the SHO in the registration of the FIR. As no such difficulty was expressed, time cannot be extended in the present case,” the counsels submitted.
On Dec 17, the court had allowed an application requesting the registration of an FIR against seven individuals, including a DCP, SHO, and sub-inspector of Delhi Police, in a case of fraud and cheating involving Rs 1 crore.
Following this order, the SHO filed an application seeking an extension of the time period to register the FIR.
The court was hearing an application seeking the FIR against seven individuals, including three police officers from North West district. It specifically enquired from Sanjay Sharma, counsel for the complainant, whether the Prevention of Corruption Act was applicable.
The plea sought an FIR against the accused for various offences, including cheating, criminal intimidation, criminal breach of trust, public servant disobeying the law with intent to cause injury, and public servant disobeying the direction of law with intent to save a person from punishment.
Dharmesh Sharma, a businessman residing in Ashok Vihar, alleged in his complaint that four people known to him and his family defrauded him of over Rs 1 crore by breaching his trust.
The complainant also claimed that although he dialled helpline number 112 to report the offence, police failed to take action. The court noted that some co-accused private individuals were enjoying police protection for illicit reasons under the wings of the concerned DCP.
In Aug, the same court directed the SHO to file a reply to an application seeking the preservation of CCTV footage, including audio and video, of the SHO’s room at Bharat Nagar police station for the period between 11 am and 2 pm on April 11.
