New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, September 30, severely criticised the Uttar Pradesh Police, saying they might as well disband the Department and let the CBI handle every probe in the state.
The remarks were made by a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva while hearing a petition on irregularities in UP Police’s conduct during a criminal investigation involving a motorcycle incident.
‘How will people trust police?’
The matter reached the apex court when a complainant filed a petition submitting to the bench that the police were biased from the beginning of the case. After the accident, the complainant said he physically caught the rider on the spot and handed him over to the officials. Police, however, still registered a first information report (FIR) against unknown persons, leaving the accused column in the report empty.
“FIR was registered against unknown persons? Why did you write unknown if the person was caught at the spot? Why did you register FIR against an unknown motorcycle rider if he was caught on the spot?” the bench questioned the police’s counsel.
The petitioner said the police acted even more suspiciously when the High Court intervened and sought a status report from the police. The authorities reportedly amended the chargesheet by including the rider’s name, Tushar, only to clear him of all charges later. The complainant pointed out that the motorcycle, which bore no registration number, was given a number plate out of the blue during the investigation.
The apex court stated that leaving out the name of an apprehended accused in the initial FIR and later changing details of the case completely destroys public trust and institutional credibility in law enforcement agencies.
“You catch the accused at the spot but you don’t want to name him in the FIR,” the bench said. “Perhaps if the equation works out you can substitute the name, bring in one of your own names, you must keep a list of accused in different FIRs whoever has gotten lesser number of FIRs you can include his name. Is that how it works there?”
Police’s reply ‘completely uninspiring,’ says SC
The court noted that the UP Police’s reply affidavit was “completely uninspiring,” directing the concerned police officer to be present in court on the next hearing.
“We found the affidavit filed by UP Police to be completely uninspiring. The officer is to be present in court in the next hearing with a better affidavit explaining as to why the FIR was registered against an unknown motorcycle rider when it is an admitted fact that the said motorcycle was apprehended at the spot.”
‘Less said the better’
Pulling up the officers for their alleged conduct, the court questioned how people could continue to trust them if they proceed in such a manner. “In everything, you have an agenda. How will people trust you if this is how you proceed with matters?”
In a scathing remark, the Supreme Court bench said it would be better if it asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over investigations handled by the state police. “It is better if we ask CBI to step in all UP Police investigations. We might as well disband the UP Police. This nonsense has to stop at some point.”
The court added, “Toeing the line is one thing, but bending over backwards? And this kind of cover-up job? Less said the better.”
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