Police officials allegedly filed false cases against petitioners to put pressure; Allahabad High Court transfers case to CBI

The Allahabad High Court recently transferred a case lodged with Firozabad police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a free and fair investigation.

The bench of Justice Suneet Kumar and Syed Waiz Mian noted that there were allegations that the police officials of district Mathura were lodging false cases and procuring manufactured evidence against the petitioners and their families so as to pressurize them to compromise in earlier cases.

Considering the facts of the case, court directed the Principal Secretary, Home, Government of U.P., Lucknow, to transfer the matter to the CBI which has also been directed to register a case and proceed with the investigation.

Court was hearing a writ petition filed for quashing a First Information Report (FIR) lodged in March this year under sections 363, 366 IPC, Police Station Rasoolpur, District Firozabad. With this petition, another plea was clubbed where a fair investigation of the case, which was the subject matter of challenge in the leading writ petition, was sought.

It was petitioners' contention that the police officials of district Mathura had lodged fraudulent cases against them to pressurize them to compromise in earlier cases and the FIR in question had been lodged not to press the enquiry report in a case, wherein, 35 police officials have been found, prima facie, guilty of lodging false cases.

The facts of the case, briefly stated, were that one Prem Singh and another made attempt on the life of the petitioners’ brother in 2013, after which, a complaint was made by the mother of the petitioners. However, instead of lodging an FIR, the police official booked the first petitioner under Section 151, 107, 116 Cr.P.C.

Thereafter, petitioners’ mother filed an application under section 156(3) CrPC basis which a case was registered under sections 147, 148, 149, 120-B, 323, 392, 307, 324, 452, 504, 506 I.P.C., Police Station Highway, District Mathura.

Allegedly, being aggrieved with the same, police officials, in connivance with the accused persons, lodged an FIR under sections 323, 504, 506, 452, 354 I.P.C., at Police Station Highway, District Mathura, against the petitioners, their brother and their mother, who all belong to a Scheduled Caste.

Thereafter, the mother of the petitioners approached the National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi and on the directions of the Commission in 2016, a case was registered at Police Station Highway, District Mathura, under Section 166-A, against Surendra Singh Yadav, Station House Officer, Police Station Highway, Mathura, and Sub-Inspector Netrapal Singh.

Subsequently, in 2018, the brother of the petitioners was also illegally detained and later on implicated in false serious cases. The petitioners then approached the National Commission for Schedule Castes, U.P. Lucknow, which, in 2020, directed the Special Enquiry Cell to hold an enquiry with regard to the involvement of police personnel in respect of the incident of 2018.

The Additional Superintendent of Police (Special Enquiry), Head Quarter Lucknow, pursuant to the directions of the SC commission, held an enquiry and submitted a report in 2021 wherein, the named police personnels, prima facie, were found involved in detaining illegally petitioners' brother, implicating him in false cases and submitting false charge sheet in connivance with Senior Supervisory Officer.

However, when no action was taken in light of the report of the Additional Superintendent of Police (Special Enquiry), the petitioners again approached the SC Commission which sought response of the Director General of Police, U.P. Lucknow over the issue.

DGP, Lucknow submitted a report on March 15, 2022, and immediately thereafter, on March 24, the impugned FIR was registered against the petitioners.

Noting that from the report of the Additional Superintendent of Police (Special Enquiry), Head Quarter Lucknow, it was evident that the police personnel of District Mathura, have been stage managing to lodge false cases against the family members of the petitioners, court ordered for the transfer of the case lodge on March 24, 2022 against the petitioners to the CBI.

Moreover, court restrained the Senior Superintendent of Police, Agra, and the Investigating Officer of the case from proceeding with the investigation.

The matter will be next heard on November 9, 2022.

Case Title: Sumit Kumar And Another v. State Of U.P. And 2 Others with another connected matter