FIR Doesn't Say 'Honourable' Minister, Court Asks Top Official To Explain Why

The Allahabad High Court has sought an explanation from the additional chief secretary (home) of Uttar Pradesh over the non-mentioning of the courtesy title 'Hon'ble' before the name of a Union minister in an FIR.

A two-judge bench of Justices J J Munir and Tarun Saxena passed the order after hearing a petition filed by a person named Harshit Sharma and two others, seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against them in Mathura.

In the order passed on March 31, the court said that even if the prefix 'Hon'ble Minister' was inappropriately described by the first informant, it was the duty of the police to abide by the protocol by inserting the honorific while writing the FIR.

Fixing April 6 for the next hearing, the court said, "The additional chief secretary (home), government of Uttar Pradesh, will explain on his affidavit why the Hon'ble Union minister, whose name figures in the FIR, has not been described with the usual honorific of Hon'ble, and at one point, referred to just by his name without even appending a 'Mr'." Even if in the written report, the minister was inappropriately described by the first informant, while writing the FIR, it was the duty of the police to have abided by the protocol by inserting the honorific, may be in brackets, it added.

The court directed the registrar (compliance) to communicate the court's order to the additional chief secretary and the Mathura SSP within 48 hours.

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