“Police Officers Must Wear Prescribed Uniform In Court”: Allahabad High Court
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Allahabad High Court directed UP DGP to ensure all police officers wear prescribed uniforms while attending court, after criticizing an officer for appearing in casual clothes.
Prayagraj: Today, on June 23, in a recent bail hearing, the Allahabad High Court expressed strong disapproval of an Investigating Officer who appeared before the Court wearing casual clothes instead of his official uniform.
The Court directed the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, to issue guidelines making it compulsory for police officers to wear proper uniforms when appearing before any court for official duties.
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The case was heard by a Single Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, who was considering a bail application filed by an accused under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The accused sought bail during the pendency of the trial.
Justice Singh said,
“In view of the observations made in paragraph no. 12 of this order, the Director General of Police, U.P. Lucknow is directed to look into the matter and issue necessary directions/guidelines to all concerned that whenever they appear before any Court for judicial function in official capacity, they should wear proper uniform prescribed to their posts.”
Background of the Case
The complaint was made to the Anti-Corruption Organization in Mirzapur. The complainant alleged that an FIR had been lodged under Sections 303(2), 317(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 4/21 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, against unknown persons.
The applicant, a government official, was the Investigating Officer in that case.
It was alleged that the officer demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 from the complainant to avoid naming him as an accused in the case.
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However, after some discussion, the amount was settled at Rs 5,000. A trap was then planned by the Anti-Corruption team.
The trap team, accompanied by independent witnesses and the complainant, reached the pre-decided location.
According to the prosecution, the complainant gave the marked Rs 5,000 to the officer. As soon as the officer accepted the money, he was caught red-handed by the trap team.
Court’s Observations
After examining the facts of the case, the Court found that the investigation was not conducted in a fair and impartial manner. The Court observed that the investigating officer had not properly verified whether the applicant had any role in investigating the said case.
The Court stated,
“In view of the above, I find force in the submission of learned counsel for the applicant that applicant never conducted investigation of case crime no. 08 of 2025 and no record was given to him.”
Additionally, the Court took serious note of the behavior of Inspector Krishna Mohan Rai, who is the Investigating Officer in the current case.
The Court noted that he appeared in court wearing a colored shirt and pants, instead of his prescribed uniform.
“The police officers are expected to wear prescribed uniform while appearing before Courts. The appearance of any police officer wearing casual civil clothes in Court proceeding amounts to a violation of decorum of the Court and undermining the Court proceedings. Learned A.G.A. appearing for the state also apprised this Court that when he interrupted Mr. Rai for not coming in proper uniform, he became angry and his gesture towards him was inappropriate. Such conduct of Mr. Krishna Mohan Rai is deprecated by this Court, and he is warned to be careful in future.”
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh was not pleased with such conduct and directed the DGP of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that proper instructions are issued to all officers.
The purpose is to maintain the dignity and decorum of the court.
Taking into account the facts, nature of the offence, available evidence, the accused’s role, and the stage of the trial, the High Court decided to grant bail to the applicant.
Case Title:
Shakeel Ahmad v. State of U.P.
Appeared for Applicant: Advocates Ashwani Kumar Sachan, Gaurav Kumar Srivastava, Saurabh Sachan, and Shubham
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