The Allahabad High Court has expressed serious concern over the prolonged pendency of final reports submitted by police in criminal cases. On Tuesday, the court directed all district and sessions judges in Uttar Pradesh to submit details regarding such cases pending in subordinate courts.
A Lucknow bench of Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari observed that keeping final reports pending for years even after completion of investigation was a matter of concern for the criminal justice system. The court noted that this causes unnecessary hardship to accused persons against whom police have submitted final reports after completing the investigation.
The court has sought reports from all district and sessions judges through the registrar general, detailing the number of pending final reports, reasons for the delay, and the action plan prepared for their early disposal. The bench directed district judges to regularly review the pending final reports before subordinate courts and ensure that old matters are taken up on priority.
According to the court, nearly 50,000 final reports are pending disposal in Lucknow district courts alone, and a similar situation exists in other districts of the state. The court attributed the delays to preliminary procedures, including the issuance of notices to complainants, which often result in final reports remaining pending for years.
The directions were issued while hearing a petition related to a case registered at Gosaiganj police station. In this case, police had submitted a final report on July 11, 2020, but no order has been passed on it so far. The petitioners, who are businessmen, told the court that they frequently travel abroad and are facing difficulties in renewing their passports due to the pendency of the case. The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 20.
