NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the city police to take appropriate action against erring officials, including a station house officer (SHO), for filing a misleading status report and concealing vital material from the court in a murder case, terming it a “shocking situation”.
Justice Girish Kathpalia passed the directions while allowing the bail application of a murder accused after noting that crucial testimony of a star prosecution witness had been concealed from the court.
“I have heard counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, assisted by Inspector Imtiyaz Alam, who is neither the investigating officer nor the concerned SHO. It is not just a case of the investigating officer and the SHO being completely insensitive in assisting the prosecution, but also a shocking situation where the then SHO of PS Bawana filed an incomplete and misleading status report dated July 14, 2025,” the judge said.
“In the said status report, the SHO concealed the vital portion of the testimony of the star witness of the prosecution,” Justice added.
The court observed that the prosecution concealed from the court a crucial part of the testimony of the ‘last seen’ witness, the wife of the deceased. “Only partial testimony of PW-1 was placed on record.
In her further chief examination recorded on February 17, 2025, which was concealed from this court, PW-1 expressed inability to identify the accused after being shown CCTV footage. The correctness of this testimony is not disputed by the prosecution,” the judge said.
Considering the circumstances, the court granted bail, observing there was no reason to deprive the accused of further liberty. The court directed that a copy of the order be sent to the concerned jail superintendent and to the DCP to take action against officials who filed the misleading report. The accused said he had been in jail for over four years and eight months and that only five of 25 prosecution witnesses had been examined. Police said the case was registered on a blind FIR.