Action ordered against police officers in Kerala for filing false report in rape case

The Kerala State Police Complaints Authority has ordered action against police officers who allegedly filed a false report in court to prosecute a Thrissur native without conducting a proper investigation into a rape complaint lodged against him.

The directive follows a complaint filed by M.N. Janardhanan Nambiar, an octogenarian, before the police complaints authority. After conducting an inquiry, the authority found that the allegations raised in the complaint were valid and that there had been a deliberate lapse on the part of the investigating officers.

Earlier, the Thrissur Assistant Sessions Court, which heard the case, had acquitted Mr. Nambiar of the rape charge. The court proceedings and subsequent findings revealed that the police officers concerned had knowingly failed in their duty while prosecuting the case. The authority observed that submitting a misleading report to court without a thorough and impartial investigation amounted to serious misconduct and warranted legal action against the officers involved.

The authority has instructed the Inspector General of Police, Thrissur Range, to register a case against the officers found responsible in the issue. Those named include former Circle Inspectors of Guruvayoor police station K.G. Suresh and K. Sudarshan (retired); and former Assistant Commissioner of Police, District Crime Records Bureau, Thrissur, Sivadasan.

The order follows a Kerala High Court judgment in December 2024 that directed the authority to expedite the proceedings in the complaint that has been pending for nearly a decade.