4 min readNew DelhiJul 15, 2026 11:21 AM IST
Setting aside a 15-year-old FIR for theft, the Himachal Pradesh High Court observed that a man cannot be “condemned forever” just because a case had been lodged against him and never acted upon. The pending FIR had even led to the rejection of his passport application.
Justice Rakesh Kainthla was on July 13 hearing a plea filed by the man seeking to quash the FIR as no legal proceedings had taken place since its registration, and the case records were untraceable at the police station and trial court.
“No proceedings are being conducted against the petitioner, and only the FIR is shown to be pending against the petitioner, which would not be taken to the logical conclusion in the absence of the record. The petitioner cannot be condemned forever simply because an FIR was lodged against him, and the continuation of the FIR cannot be permitted,” the order stated.
After the man applied for a passport, a negative police verification report was issued on January 1, 2024, stating that an FIR was pending against him. The man, however, alleged that he had not received any notice, summons, or intimation from any court or the police regarding its registration.
Justice Rakesh Kainthla set aside the long-pending FIR and allowed the man to produce a copy of the judgment before the authorities concerned.
The man then approached the Nahan Police Station in Sirmaur district, where the station house officer (SHO) said the case file had been forwarded to the court on January 4, 2010.
The man also approached the trial court, which found that the case records were untraceable and directed the police to supply the available record, but the police failed to supply it. No proceedings had been initiated on the 15-year-old FIR due to the loss of the file. According to a report of the sessions trial court, the FIR was available with its office, along with the bail record, but no formal chargesheet was available.
Offence time-barred: Counsel
Advocate Rajesh Kumar, appearing for the man, submitted that for the offence of theft, official action can only be taken within three years and since that period had already expired and no action had been initiated, the existence of the FIR would only cause harm to the man.
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Additional advocate general Lokender Kutlehria, representing the state and the authorities concerned, argued that the chargesheet had been forwarded to the court, but the receipt was not available with the police. The counsel further stated that the case was registered for theft and the case property was also recovered, and hence the FIR must not be quashed.
Can’t take action now: Court
The state’s plea that the chargesheet was sent to the court could not be accepted because it could neither be traced in the court nor did the police have any record of its submission before the court, the high court held. The court further noted that no legal proceedings took place within the three-year time period for taking action on the crime of theft, and it would not be acceptable for the trial court to take any action now that the time had lapsed.
Accordingly, the high court set aside the FIR and invalidated all legal proceedings arising from it. It also stated that the man was allowed to produce a copy of the judgment, downloaded from the Himachal Pradesh High Court website, before the authorities concerned. The authorities were directed not to insist on an official copy but were allowed to verify the order from the court website.
