Allahabad HC directs UP govt to make sure persons’ criminal history is available with the press of a button

The Court was dealing with a plea seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against one Bal Kumar Patel along with his anticipatory bail application

PGurus Newsdesk

December 15, 2022

The Court was dealing with a plea seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against one Bal Kumar Patel along with his anticipatory bail application

Allahabad HC directs UP Authorities to make sure persons’ criminal history is available with a press of a button

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary, Home, and the Director General of Police to ensure that the criminal history of an accused is available in one stroke on a dedicated portal.

The Court has also asked the authorities concerned to fix the responsibility of the person responding in court(s) through instructions/ reply/ affidavit or otherwise, for disclosing the entire criminal history of an accused in a court case.

“With the present digital age where everything is now possible and available with the press of a button or a click of a mouse, it cannot be said that the criminal history of a person cannot be gathered by the police agency instantaneously through a dedicated portal for it for reporting it to the courts. If the same is not updated or is non-functional, it is a matter of concern,” the Court observed.

Justice Samit Gopal passed the order as the Court denied anticipatory bail to former MP Bal Kumar Patel, the brother of slain dacoit Dadua, in connection with a cheating case. During the course of the hearing, in a counter affidavit filed by sub-inspector Brahmdev Goswami in the case, on behalf of the state, it was mentioned that Patel had no criminal history.

However, the counsel for the first informant made an objection and apprised the Court that the accused had a criminal history of 11 cases.

In view of the apparent discrepancy in the filing of the criminal history of the accused, the Court took cognizance of it and sought a personal affidavit of the superintendent of police, Banda, and in that affidavit, it was disclosed that the applicant in fact had a criminal history of 27 cases, including the present case.

The Court said that the manner in which this fact emerged and that, too, when the counsel for the first informant pointed it out, is a matter of concern.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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