Supreme Court questions UP Police probe, seeks officer's explanation
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the Uttar Pradesh Police over alleged irregularities in a criminal investigation. Bar and Bench and India Legal reported that the court sought an explanation from the officer concerned.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva was hearing a petition filed by the complainant, who appeared in person. According to both legal news outlets, she alleged that the investigation was biased from the outset.
The complainant said she caught a motorcycle rider after an incident and handed him to the police, Bar and Bench reported. The police nevertheless registered the FIR against an unknown rider and left the accused column blank, according to her submission.
The petitioner also alleged that the rider was later named in the chargesheet after the High Court sought a status report. Bar and Bench and India Legal reported that she said police subsequently gave him a clean chit.
She further alleged that the motorcycle had no number plate when it was seized but later appeared with a registration number. The Bench asked why the FIR omitted the rider's name when he had allegedly been caught at the spot, the reports said.
Bar and Bench reported that the judges described the investigation as a possible cover-up and questioned how the public could trust the police. The Bench orally said all investigations might as well be given to the CBI and that the UP Police could be disbanded.
The court found the police affidavit completely uninspiring, according to Bar and Bench. It directed the officer concerned to attend the next hearing with a better affidavit explaining why the rider's name was initially omitted.
Free Press Journal separately reported the same court exchange and direction, citing Bar and Bench for parts of its account. The court's remarks were oral observations, and the reports did not say that any investigation had been transferred to the CBI.
