No 'Hon'ble' Or 'Mr' Prefix For Union Minister In FIR? Allahabad High Court Seeks UP Govt's Explanation
The Allahabad High Court has sought the explanation of a top Uttar Pradesh government official over the non-mentioning of the usual honorific of 'Hon'ble' before the name of a Union Minister, whose name figured in an FIR.
A bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Government of UP, to explain this omission in his affidavit.
The Court noted that at one point in the FIR, the Union Minister was referred to just by his name, without even appending a basic prefix like 'Mr'.
Taking strict note of the same, the bench observed that even if the 'Hon'ble Minister' was inappropriately described by the first informant, it was the duty of the Police to have abided by the protocol by inserting the honorific while writing the chik FIR.
The bench sought this explanation while dealing with a quashing plea concerning the offences of criminal intimidation and criminal breach of trust. The Union Minister's name was mentioned in the FIR.
The Court will hear the matter next on April 6.
The bench also directed the Registrar (Compliance) to communicate the order to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mathura, through the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mathura, within 48 hours.