Allahabad HC asks govt to put criminals' records on portal

Prayagraj, Dec 15 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.