Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a stinging rebuke to the station house officer (SHO) of Chandan Nagar police station in Indore, terming him a ‘rogue’ officer for repeatedly citing the same individuals as witnesses in hundreds of criminal cases and ordering his immediate removal from all police duties.
A Bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan directed that SHO Indramani Patel be taken off all police work with immediate effect. The court warned that if the officer interfered in any police functioning till further orders, the Commissioner of Police, Indore, would be held personally responsible.
The court was informed that the SHO had cited two individuals as witnesses in an extraordinary number of cases — one in 195 cases and the other in 215. The repeated use of the same witnesses across unrelated cases raised serious doubts about the integrity of investigations conducted under his supervision.
Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde told the court that the practice continued even after the Supreme Court had summoned the officer, indicating blatant disregard for judicial oversight. The state’s explanation that the witnesses were merely “rahagirs” or passersby failed to convince the Bench.
Expressing strong disapproval, Justice Amanullah observed that the SHO ‘appears to be a rogue’ and remarked that he did not seem ‘fit even to be a constable.’ The court rejected the state’s suggestion to merely place the officer on leave and instead ordered that he be kept away from all police duties, including any posting at a police station.
The proceedings stemmed from an earlier affidavit filed by Madhya Pradesh Police claiming that an accused had eight criminal antecedents, including a rape case. It later emerged that the affidavit was incorrect and that several cases were wrongly attributed to the accused. The state blamed a database error, but the court expressed deep concern over such grave inaccuracies being placed before the apex court.
The matter was further complicated by an intervention application from advocate Asad Ali Warsi, who alleged that he was falsely implicated in a drunk-driving case after refusing to pay a bribe. He accused the police of fabricating evidence, routinely using stock witnesses and even assaulting him, reinforcing the court’s view that the issue reflected a deeper pattern of abuse.
The Bench noted that the problem of stock witnesses is not confined to one officer or one state and poses a serious threat to the criminal justice system. Such practices, the court said, undermine fair trial guarantees and public confidence in policing. The matter will be heard again on February 3, with the Supreme Court signaling tougher scrutiny of police investigations ahead.
