The Madras High Court has made clear the status of an FIR, saying that just because an FIR has been lodged against a person, it doesn’t necessarily mean that criminal proceedings have been instituted against the person while clarifying a judgment.
For that to happen, it has to “translate itself into a final report and the same is taken cognizance by a competent court,” observed Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, while granting relief to a man who was denied a passport, because an FIR had been registered against him for not wearing a mask while driving a motorcycle during the pandemic.
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The single-judge bench directed passport authorities to process the application of the applicant (provided he satisfies other requirements). The petitioner had been served a communication by the Regional Passport Officer, saying that he cannot be issued a passport, because an FIR was pending against him at the Karuppayurani Police Station, Madurai.
Source: ILNS