CHENNAI: Flaying the police for an unreasonable delay of seven years for filing a final report in a forgery case, the Madras High Court quashed the proceedings pending before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Chennai saying that permitting continuance of the prosecution and trial would be total abuse of the process of law.
In a petition filed by Yohann J Setna seeking to quash the proceedings in a forgery case, Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan, in a recent order, said that the bounden duty of the court and the prosecution is to ‘prevent unreasonable delay’ and a purpose of the right to a speedy trial is intended to ‘avoid oppression and prevent delay’ by imposing on the courts and the prosecution an obligation to proceed with reasonable dispatch.
The cybercrime cell of Chennai city police registered an FIR for forgery against Yohann, who was working as a sporting manager in a motorsport firm, based on a complaint filed by Vivek Ponnusamy alleging that Yohann had morphed a video on motorsport featuring his role as a co-drive, and thereby causing disrepute to him.
The complaint was lodged in 2013 and the FIR was also registered in the same year. However, the police filed the charge sheet in the case only in 2020, after a delay of seven years without any explanation.
Justice Ilanthiraiyan noted the prosecution had failed to initiate the trial proceedings for the past seven years even though there was no lapse on part of the petitioner.
“Thus, permitting the first respondent (police) to continue with prosecution and trial any further would be total abuse of process of law,” the judge concluded and observed that the trial court should not have taken cognizance of the matter as the final report, for the delay of seven years.
Finding that no offence was made out for forgery under sections 465 and 469 of IPC and the case is barred by limitation, the judge quashed the proceedings.