Make criminal history of accused available on dedicated portal: Allahabad high court

Allahabad high court denies anticipatory bail to slain dacoit Dadua’s ex-MP brother Bal Kumar Patel alias Raj Kumar

The Allahabad high court has directed the Uttar Pradesh principal secretary, Home, and the director general of police to take necessary steps so that the criminal history of an accused is available in one stroke on a dedicated portal.

During the course of the hearing, in a counter affidavit filed by sub-inspector Brahmdev Goswami in the case, on behalf of the State of U.P, it was mentioned that Bal Kumar Patel had no criminal history. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE )

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 remarked.

Justice Samit Gopal passed the order on December 9 as the court denied anticipatory bail to former MP Bal Kumar Patel alias Raj Kumar, 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 of U.P, it was mentioned that Bal Kumar 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. The high court asked the principal secretary, Home, and the director general of police, Uttar Pradesh, to look into this issue and do the needful and also take up the issue at their level for having the details of the criminal history of a person at one stroke.