NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly criticised the Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly registering an FIR against an unknown person despite knowing the identity of the accused, questioning how people could trust the police under such circumstances.A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva suggested that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) take over all criminal investigations in Uttar Pradesh and even remarked that the entire state police force could be disbanded.“Why did you write unknown if the person was caught at the spot? How will people trust the police?” the court asked.The bench further said, “Toeing the line is one thing but bending over is another. And this kind of cover-up job? Less said the better.”Directing the station house officer (SHO) to remain present in court on the next date of hearing, the bench questioned the police investigation and said, “This is how you do the investigation. We have seen lacunae in many cases. In everything, you have an agenda. How will people trust you if this is how you proceed with these matters?“It is better if we ask the CBI to step in and take over all UP Police investigations. We might as well disband the UP Police. This nonsense has to stop at some point.”The observations came during the hearing of a woman’s plea seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to an accused in a case registered under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).The petitioner, who appeared in person, alleged that the police had initially registered an FIR against an “unknown person” despite her having handed the accused over to them after he allegedly trespassed into a private space and harassed her.She further alleged that the police added the accused’s name to their report only after the court sought an explanation, without conducting any investigation, and described the police report as “biased”.The bench also questioned the possibility of an accused’s name being introduced later through supplementary documents.“Perhaps…. you can substitute the name, bring in one of your own names…” the court observed.
SC seeks explanation from UP government
The Supreme Court noted that the Uttar Pradesh Police’s affidavit itself disclosed the accused’s name, despite it allegedly being omitted from the FIR. The bench sought an explanation from the state administration over the circumstances in which the FIR was registered and directed it to file a fresh affidavit.The court further remarked that following instructions was one thing, but going to such lengths to protect or cover up the conduct in question was unacceptable.The woman had initially approached a lower court, which granted anticipatory bail to the accused. She subsequently moved the Allahabad High Court seeking cancellation of the bail, but her plea was rejected.She then approached the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s order.
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During the hearing, the petitioner alleged that the accused’s name was introduced into the case only after the High Court sought a report, and that he was eventually given a clean chit. The Supreme Court expressed shock at the submission.However, advocate Vijendra Singh, representing the Uttar Pradesh Police, denied that the court had made adverse observations against the state police.According to the advocate-on-record, the bench had only taken note of the petitioner’s submissions and sought an affidavit from the UP Police. The Uttar Pradesh government said it would respond to the allegations before the court.With inputs from ANI and PTI.
