The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh Police over alleged irregularities in a criminal investigation.
A Division Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva observing that it might as well direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over all investigations in the State.
The Court made the strong observations after finding that police had registered an FIR against an “unknown” motorcycle rider, despite the complainant allegedly apprehending the rider at the spot and handing him over to the police.
Criticizing the police for an alleged cover-up, the Supreme Court questioned how the public could trust an agency driven by motives, remarking that it might as well hand all investigations in the state over to the CBI or disband the UP Police altogether to end the “nonsense.”
The matter arose from a petition filed by the complainant, who appeared in person before the Court. She alleged that the police investigation had been biased from the outset.
According to her, she had physically apprehended the motorcycle rider following the incident and handed him over to the police. Despite this, the police registered the FIR against “unknown” persons, leaving the accused column blank.
The petitioner further submitted that after the High Court sought a status report, the police subsequently named the rider in the chargesheet, but later gave him a clean chit. She also alleged that the motorcycle, which had been seized without a number plate, subsequently appeared in the investigation with a registration number.
Taking exception to the circumstances, the Bench questioned the UP Police counsel as to why the rider’s identity had not been mentioned in the FIR despite his alleged apprehension at the spot.
The Supreme Court sharply criticized the police for failing to name a suspect in the FIR who was apprehended on the spot, warning that such practices destroy public trust. The judges questioned whether leaving the suspect’s identity blank was a deliberate attempt to manipulate or swap names later depending on the situation. The Court was unimpressed by the UP Police’s response, calling their affidavit “completely uninspiring.”
It directed the concerned police officer to remain personally present at the next hearing with a fresh affidavit explaining why the FIR had initially been registered against an unknown motorcycle rider despite the admitted fact that the rider had been apprehended at the spot.
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