In Brief
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's decision quashing FIRs against public servants for corruption, holding that absence of General Diary entries during preliminary enquiry does not render the prosecution illegal. While Lalitha Kumari directs that preliminary enquiries must be recorded in the General Diary, the Court clarified that this is an obligation of best efforts, not a mandatory precondition for FIR registration. The distinction between irregularity and illegality is material under criminal procedure; failure to maintain diary entries is an irregularity affecting the course of investigation, not a grave defect vitiating the entire proceeding. Preliminary enquiry in corruption cases serves as an important safeguard against false prosecutions. The trial court, not a writ court, is equipped to assess the effect of such procedural lapses on the merits.
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