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A division bench comprising Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Sanjay A Deshmukh expressed concern whereas listening to a plea filed by Amol Nikam and 4 of his relations, who had sought to quash proceedings arising from an FIR lodged at Erandol Police Station in Jalgaon district on February 24, 2024.
The case, initially registered as an unintended demise, was later transformed to abetment of suicide, and subsequently underneath Part 305 after it was confirmed that the deceased was a 17-year-old minor woman.
Although the bench initially appeared disinclined to grant reduction and the petition was ultimately withdrawn by the petitioners, the court docket took suo motu judicial discover of the style through which statements underneath Part 161 of the Code of Felony Process (CrPC) had been recorded.
“Even in critical offences, the investigating officer has actually made copy-paste of the statements,” the court docket famous, expressing shock over the mechanical and negligent strategy adopted by the police. “Two witnesses can not give statements in equivalent style. Even the paragraphs begin with the identical phrases and finish with the identical phrases,” the bench noticed.
Terming this follow “harmful,” the court docket cautioned that such uniformity in statements may inadvertently profit the accused and weaken the credibility of in any other case real circumstances. “In such circumstances, the seriousness of the real case might get vanished,” it added.
Disturbed by the findings, the court docket appointed Advocate Mukul Kulkarni as amicus curiae to help in drafting a petition recommending systemic reforms. “The State should come out with particular tips for investigating officers, particularly relating to how statements must be recorded,” the court docket directed.
The amicus has been requested to submit a report by June 20, with the following listening to scheduled for June 27.
