THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even while finalising the modalities for publishing all first information reports online as per a recent Supreme Court directive, the state police would be seeking a clarification on how long an FIR should be maintained online. The Supreme Court had recently directed all states to publish online FIRs within 24 hours after registration. Cases pertaining to child abuse, sexual offences and terrorism are exempted from this rule.
State police chief Loknath Behera told Deccan Chronicle that the state police had already begun the preliminary works for setting up the online facility to publish FIRs by November. With over six lakh cases being registered in the state annually, keeping all the FIRs online for an unlimited period would require huge server space and hence the state police plan to get a clarification.
“In the recent SC directive, there is lack of clarity on how long an FIR should be kept online. Since keeping FIRs for long period required huge server spaces, we would be seeking a clarification from the centre on the matter,” Mr. Behera said. Meanwhile, the state police have already initiated talks with the Kerala State IT Mission on finalising the modalities for making FIRs online.
“We are looking into various options, whether to set up a new website for providing FIRs online or include in the existing website of Kerala police itself,” said Mr. Behera. Even as the SC has offered an extended deadline of 48 to 72 hours for police stations with limited internet access to upload the FIR online, police sources said that almost all the police stations now had internet access. Though the state police had piloted a facility to view FIRs through the police official portal in 2012, it could not be taken forward effectively.
