Scripted FIRs: Allahabad High Court seeks explanation from police in cow protection law cases

The Allahabad High Court recently directed the police chiefs of two districts in Uttar Pradesh to explain why two unrelated First Information Reports (FIRs) filed under the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act had similar wording [Aleem vs. State of UP]. .A Bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Parmod Kumar Srivastava noted that the distance between the two districts is more than 150 kilometers, and called it strange that the FIRs followed what appeared to the same script. This may require a further investigation, the Bench said in an order passed on April 16."Considering the aforesaid, let concerned Superintendent of Police filed their personal affidavits indicating the incongruities as have been pointed out by this Court in this order and also explaining the strange coincidence of primarily same wording of FIRs being filed in two districts situated at a distance of more than 150 Kilometers to each other," the Bench said..Earlier, the High Court had in February pulled up the police for filing what it described as a “movie script” FIR in one of the cases under cow protection law. The Court had flagged dramatic dialogues, cinematic gunfire descriptions and glaring inconsistencies in the FIR and questioned whether the Uttar Pradesh Police were drafting FIRs based on actual events or merely reproducing dramatic lines lifted from movie scripts.In response, Superintendent of Police Hardoi defended the FIR registered in his district. However, the Court has now flagged its similarity with the case registered by Jarwal Road police station in Bahraich district..Further, the Court found that in both the cases, the accused had been shot in the leg. "A perusal of the impugned F.I.R. in the case of Aleem (supra) and Akbar Ali (supra) would indicate that in both the FIRs one of the accused has been shot at by the authorities in their leg. Incidentally, in the case of Aleem (supra) the accused has been shot at in his right leg while in the case of Akbar Ali (supra) he has been shot in his left leg."Finding that both the cases seemed like encounters, the Court asked the police chiefs to explain whether Supreme Court's guidelines were followed to probe the incidents..The Court will hear the matter next on May 21."Let the personal affidavits be filed within three weeks, failing which Superintendent of Police of the respective districts would appear in person along with records to assist the Court," ordered the Court..[Read Order]