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New Delhi: A court here has directed the Delhi Police to register a first information report (FIR) against several NDMC staffers for allegedly subjecting a woman to “sustained casteist abuse, humiliation and harassment”.

Judicial Magistrate Ravi was hearing an application seeking the court’s direction to register an FIR.

“The threshold for registration of FIR is not proof but disclosure of a cognisable offence,” the court said.

The plea filed by a woman data entry operator with the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) alleged that after her colleagues discovered she belonged to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, they subjected her to “sustained casteist abuse, humiliation and harassment” between August, 2024 and March, 2025.

Counter-complaint ‘engineered’ against Complainant

She claimed that no action was taken despite her repeatedly raising the issue with her reporting officer, the NDMC chairperson, the chief vigilance officer and the SC-ST Commission.

Instead, a counter-complaint was allegedly “engineered” against her, resulting in her “surrender from the department,” she claimed.

The court noted that in an action taken report (ATR) or status report, police had justified withholding the FIR, saying that a preliminary inquiry was conducted during which none of the accused persons admitted to the allegations, three independent witnesses did not corroborate her claims, CCTV cameras were non-functional and the complainant could not provide audio or video recordings of the abuse.

Threshold for FIR not proof, but disclosure of offence, says magistrate

The police also said her complaint could be “triggered” because of a prior legal notice issued by one of the accused, the woman alleged.

In an order passed on Thursday, the magistrate cited a 2013 landmark judgment of the Supreme Court (Lalita Kumari, where it was held that an FIR must be registered if it prima facie discloses a cognisable offence), saying a preliminary inquiry cannot be converted into a mini-trial to test the truthfulness, credibility or evidentiary weight of the allegations.

The magistrate said, “Whether independent witnesses ultimately support the complainant’s version, whether her testimony is credible and whether the offence is established beyond reasonable doubt are questions for investigation and trial, not preconditions for registration of the FIR.”

“The threshold for registration of an FIR is not proof, but disclosure of a cognisable offence, and that threshold stands satisfied,” the magistrate added.

Case booked under SC/ST Act, BNS

He said that the woman’s complaint was not vague and it mentioned specific dates, times, locations and verbatim derogatory words allegedly uttered in the presence of other colleagues.

The complaint discloses cognisable offences under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), including offences pertaining to sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and “related offences”, the magistrate said.

The court directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Mandir Marg Police Station to register an FIR. The SHO was also directed to “conduct a thorough and impartial investigation in accordance with law, keeping in mind that all defences and the veracity of rival versions, including those set out in the ATR, shall be examined during investigation and are left open to be considered on their merits”.

The police have to file a compliance report by August 13, the court said.