Bombay HC Issues Notice to State Government Over Lawyer's FIR Copy Dispute

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has issued a notice to the State government in response to a petition filed by a lawyer, alleging that she was not provided with a copy of the FIR registered against her in August.

A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Rajesh Patil recently issued the notice to the state government, observing that there "appears to be substance" in the petitioner's submissions. The High Court has asked the government to file a reply to the petition within three weeks.

Please alleges FIR Copy not provided by IO

The High Court heard a petition filed by the lawyer seeking action against the officers concerned, including contempt of court.

An FIR was registered against the lawyer on July 8 by Boivali police under sections 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to outrage modesty of a woman), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The plea alleged that despite requesting a copy of the FIR, it was not provided by the investigating officer or the Senior PI of the Police station. It is further contended that the copy of the FIR was intentionally submitted at a belated stage, i.e., after four days, to the concerned Magistrate.

According to the lawyer's advocates, Shashikant Chaudhari, Pranot Pawar, and Preshita Parab, the action of refusal by the concerned authorities constitutes an abuse of the provisions set forth under the Criminal Procedure Code and a violation of the guidelines set by the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court.

They contended that the lawyer filed an application before the magistrate at the Borivali court for a copy of the FIR, which was initially denied. Subsequently, the lawyer was given a copy of the FIR.

The lawyer then approached the High Court, contending that by denying the accused access to the FIR, the authorities may be disregarding these guidelines and potentially infringing upon the accused's rights.