The Section 182 of the PPC provides for a maximum penalty of six months in prison or fine or both in case a person deliberately registers a false case. The section is however non-cognizable, i.e. the police cannot automatically register a case under Section 182. A court has to order police to proceed against a person under section 182; in case a complaint has been brought to the court by the police or another person.
An official said the IGP has warned the field officers that no negligence will be tolerated in the registration of the FIRs as a round-the-clock monitoring of the registration of complaints is being watched on IGP Complaint Cell 8787.
The official said the IG took the initiative when a citizen Munir Ahmad, resident of Ferozwala, submitted an application seeking action against some police officers. After conducting an inquiry, the IG found DSP Ferozwala guilty and ordered his suspension from service on charges of negligence.
According to details, Munir Ahmad, resident of Kot Mehmood Tehseel Ferozwala district Sheikhupura, went to his cattle farm to sleep on 12th December 2018 and found 14 unknown dacoits over there. Meanwhile, the dacoits made him hostage with the power of weapons and rushed into his home and fled after looting cash and jewellery from his house.
Subsequently, Munir submitted an application on 13 December 2018 at Police Station Sharaqpur for the registration of FIR but it was not registered. The next day, the applicant submitted his complaint regarding registration of FIR through call on IGP complaint cell 8787 which was marked to the DSP Ferozwala for taking legal action.
After meeting the complainant at his farmhouse, the DSP observed that no such incident had taken place and the complaint was false. When the applicant again submitted his complaint on the IGP complaint cell 8787 against the DSP on December 20, the IGP strictly directed all field officers to discourage fake complaints and register FIRs under Section 182 against false complainants in their concerned jurisdictions so that "noble citizens" may be provided protection, the official added.