In a significant move to expedite judicial processes, the Allahabad High Court has mandated a digital overhaul for how police instructions reach court in criminal and bail matters. The court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure all such communications are sent electronically via email, scrapping the existing time-consuming manual system.
Court Slams Manual System as Wasteful
In an order dated December 9, the court observed that the current manual cycle for sending case details causes significant delays. Since bail matters directly impact an individual's personal liberty, the court stated this outdated practice results in "nothing but wastage of time of police personnel and public money." The bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal passed this directive while hearing a bail application filed by one Ratvar Singh.
The Cumbersome Old Process
The court detailed the inefficient chain that currently exists. When a bail notice is received, it is given to the district police 'pairokar' or representative, who visits the government advocate's office daily. This pairokar then travels to the district Superintendent of Police (SP) office, which forwards the notice to the concerned police station.
The Investigating Officer (IO) must then obtain the case diary or copy it if the charge sheet is unfiled, prepare comments, and send the entire package back through the same pairokar to the High Court. This multi-step, physical transfer inevitably slows down proceedings.
Strict Action for Negligence Warned
This is not the first time the court has addressed this systemic lag. Earlier, on November 25, the High Court had directed the UP DGP to issue a circular to all district police chiefs. It warned that any negligence by police officers in providing instructions for bail pleas to the government advocate would be dealt with strictly, as it amounts to curtailing the liberty of a bail applicant.
The government advocate represents the state government before the court, and after a bail application is filed, the crucial case details or 'instructions' are supposed to be released from the concerned police station to this advocate. The new email-based system aims to make this flow instantaneous and trackable.
By ordering the shift to electronic mode, specifically email, the Allahabad High Court seeks to ensure speedy communication, reduce unnecessary paperwork, and uphold the fundamental right to liberty by preventing avoidable delays in the justice system.
