CHENNAI: In a massive modernisation drive, no court in Tamil Nadu will accept handwritten police documents such as first information report, inquest, arrest card, seizure mahazar, and chargesheet. With the move, the state aims to become the first region in the country to use only system-generated documents for all police cases in all courts till the chargesheet stage.
"An administrative sanction for the new regimen has been okayed by the Madras high court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul," an official said. As part of the ambitious Common Integrated Police Record Updating System, a criminal case is divided into seven phases, each requiring a form. While Form 1 concerns FIR, Form 7 is about an appeal which is the last stage. In between, there are separate forms for different stages of a case. This standardised format will usher in uniformity in documenting criminal proceedings across the country. Now, officials and complainants alike can check the status of the cases concerning them from anywhere.
"Except such sensitive cases as rape and terrorist-related offences, one could check the status of all cases," officials said. Tamil Nadu has been among several other states such as Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha that have fully computerised FIRs since April 16, this year. "From now on all police stations, including special wings, will file only system-generated documents for trial. The only exception is directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption," sources said.
"We aim to ultimately integrate police, judicial and jail records, so that remand process and even trial get much easier than now. Once all states too are inter-linked, tracing criminals and their antecedents, including convictions and pending cases, will be easy," officials said. The ongoing work will also be in line with the Supreme Court's latest order asking state governments to ensure that all FIRs are put online immediately after being registered, they said.
