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‘Non-application of mind’: Allahabad High Court slams ‘fabricated’ probe after dead man listed as witness

Allahabad High Court Dead Witnesses Case: Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav said that the criminal prosecution cannot rest on assumptions or conjectures, particularly when the FIR itself is silent about the petitioner.

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 2, 2026 02:51 PM IST

Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court was hearing a plea against the trial court's criminal proceeding order. (Image enhanced using AI)

Allahabad High Court Dead Witnesses Case: The Allahabad High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings and chargesheet against a man, involved in a decade-long dispute, and said that the inclusion of “dead” persons as prosecution witnesses reflects “non-application of mind” during investigation, rendering the investigation unreliable and legally unsustainable.

Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav was hearing the plea of the man challenging the trial court’s cognisance order of the criminal proceedings, including a summon order and a chargesheet filed in 2023.

“Record also discloses that investigation carried out in the present matter suffers from grave and fatal irregularities as the chargesheet in Feburary 2023 includes various witnesses out of which five witnesses had died years before the investigation commenced and this fact conclusively establishes that the investigation is faulty, unfair, and biased and continuing the case would amount to an abuse of the judicial process and result in a miscarriage of justice,” the court observed.

The order noted that the inclusion of dead persons as prosecution witnesses, without any explanation, went to the root of the matter and reflected a non-application of mind during the investigation, thereby rendering the investigation unreliable and legally unsustainable.

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Case

The case originates from the leases of agricultural land granted to the 282 individuals in 1997 by competent authorities that were subsequently approved.

Later on, in 2016, complaints were received alleging that some allottees were ineligible and that land so allotted was transferred to private persons by execution of sale deeds through manipulation of revenue records and forged documents.

However, no FIR was registered for the cancellation of the deed at that time.

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In July 2022, a revenue inspector lodged an FIR alleging forgery in revenue records, criminal conspiracy, and the illegal transfer of land intended for scheduled caste (SC) communities.

Following the FIR, the police conducted an investigation, and a chargesheet was filed against several individuals, including the petitioner.

Acting on this FIR, the trial court issued the summons order in 2023 against the petitioner.

However, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that all criminal proceedings are manifestly illegal and amount to an abuse of the process of law, as the appellant was not even named in the 2022 FIR.

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Decision

The court said that the criminal prosecution cannot rest on assumptions or conjectures, particularly when the FIR itself is silent about the appellant.

Acknowledging the available records, the court said that the investigating officer could not have recorded statements of dead persons, yet these persons are shown as prosecution witnesses, exposing the fabricated nature of the investigation.

“This unexplained inaction on the part of the state further weakens the prosecution’s case and lends support to the contention that the present proceedings are an afterthought, initiated belatedly and without foundational civil adjudication,” the court said.

While quashing the criminal proceedings against the petitioner, the court said that the continuation of the criminal proceedings would result in a miscarriage of justice and would amount to an abuse of the process of the law.

Jagriti Rai

Jagriti Rai works with The Indian Express, where she writes from the vital intersection of law, gender, and society. Working on a dedicated legal desk, she focuses on translating complex legal frameworks into relatable narratives, exploring how the judiciary and legislative shifts empower and shape the consciousness of citizens in their daily lives. Expertise Socio-Legal Specialization: Jagriti brings a critical, human-centric perspective to modern social debates. Her work focuses on how legal developments impact gender rights, marginalized communities, and individual liberties. Diverse Editorial Background: With over 4 years of experience in digital and mainstream media, she has developed a versatile reporting style. Her previous tenures at high-traffic platforms like The Lallantop and Dainik Bhaskar provided her with deep insights into the information needs of a diverse Indian audience. Academic Foundations: Post-Graduate in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), India’s premier media training institute. Master of Arts in Ancient History from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), providing her with the historical and cultural context necessary to analyze long-standing social structures and legal evolutions. ... Read More