The Bench questioned why the motorcycle rider had initially been described as an unknown person in the FIR despite allegedly being caught at the spot.
“FIR was registered against unknown persons? Why did you write unknown if the person was caught at the spot? Why did you register FIR against an unknown motorcycle rider if he was caught on the spot? How will people trust the police?” the Bench asked.
The petitioner alleged that the police subsequently named the rider in the chargesheet only after the High Court sought a status report, before eventually giving him a clean chit.
The petitioner further alleged that the motorcycle did not have a number plate when it was seized, but was later shown in the investigation records as bearing a registration number.
The allegations prompted strong criticism from the Supreme Court, which questioned the manner in which the investigation had been conducted.
“Toeing the line is one thing but bending over backwards. And this kind of cover-up job? Less said the better,” the Bench observed.
The Court also questioned whether accused persons could deliberately be left unnamed in FIRs and warned that such conduct could erode public confidence in the police.
“In everything you have an agenda. How will people trust you if this is how you proceed with matters? It is better if we ask CBI to step in all UP Police investigations. We might as well disband the UP Police. This nonsense has to stop at some point,” the Bench said.
The Court also criticised the affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police, describing it as “completely uninspiring”, and directed the concerned police officer to appear at the next hearing with a more satisfactory explanation.
The Bench specifically sought an explanation for why the FIR had initially identified the motorcycle rider as unknown despite the police allegedly having apprehended him at the scene.
The Court noted that a subsequent police affidavit identified the rider as Tushar and sought an explanation for why his name was omitted from the FIR initially and added later.