Recently, the Allahabad High Court examined a public interest litigation raising issues of transparency and access to criminal case records, wherein directions were sought against the Uttar Pradesh Police to mandatorily upload charge sheets on its official website within a fixed time after completion of investigation.
The writ petition, instituted in 2020, sought issuance of a writ of mandamus commanding the State authorities to upload each and every charge sheet prepared by investigating officers across police stations in Uttar Pradesh on the official police portal within 24 hours of conclusion of investigation. The petitioner further prayed for directions to ensure expeditious supply of certified copies of charge sheets to the accused, their representatives, or advocates upon application.
During the hearing, the State Government relied upon the statutory scheme under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, particularly Section 173 CrPC, which governs the filing of police reports upon completion of investigation. It was contended that the provision does not envisage public uploading of charge sheets and confines their submission to the jurisdictional court.
Reference was also made to Section 207 CrPC, which mandates that copies of the police report and documents relied upon by the prosecution are required to be furnished specifically to the accused. The State further placed reliance on the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, submitting that charge sheets do not fall within the definition of “public documents” under Section 74, and therefore certified copies cannot be sought by third parties under Sections 74 and 76 of the Evidence Act.
The applicability of the Right to Information Act, 2005 was also examined, with the State asserting that charge sheets do not form part of the mandatory suo motu disclosures contemplated under Section 4(1)(b) or Section 4(2) of the RTI Act. The Bench was also referred to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Saurav Das v. Union of India, which dealt with a similar request for placing charge sheets and final reports under Section 173 CrPC in the public domain.
After considering the statutory framework and the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the High Court held that there is no legal mandate requiring charge sheets to be uploaded on public websites. The Court observed that such documents are required to be supplied only to the accused in accordance with the CrPC and do not qualify as public documents. Finding no merit in the plea, the Court dismissed the public interest litigation.
Case Title: Mohd.Irfan Siddiqui vs. State of U.P. Through Secretary Home And Anr
Case No.: (PIL) No. - 7603 of 2020
Coram: Hon’ble Mrs.Justice Rajan Roy and Hon’ble Mr Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary
Counsel for the Petitioner: Adv. Anjum Ara, Adv. Devesh Deo Bhatt, Adv. Shambhu Prasad
Counsel for the Respondent: CSC
Read Judgement @LatestLaws.com
Picture Source :
