Firozabad: In an extraordinary lapse that has sparked outrage in legal and administrative circles, a police sub-inspector in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, mistook a sitting Chief Judicial Magistrate for an accused in a theft case and even proceeded to search her residence. The blunder has led to the officer’s suspension and calls for a formal inquiry.
The incident unfolded when Sub-Inspector Banwarilal, tasked with executing a proclamation under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), wrongly identified Chief Judicial Magistrate Nagma Khan — the very judge who had issued the order — as the proclaimed offender.
The actual accused, Rajkumar alias Pappu, had been absconding in connection with a 2012 theft case registered at Thana North Police Station. After repeated non-bailable warrants failed to bring him to court, CJM Khan ordered proceedings under Section 82 CrPC. But in a shocking twist, Banwarilal not only misread the court order but also substituted the name of the absconding accused with that of the judge.
According to the court records, the officer erroneously labelled the proclamation as a non-bailable warrant (NBW) and wrote that Judge Khan could not be found at her residence—effectively making her the accused in the police records.
The mistake came to light during a court hearing on March 23, when a stunned Judge Khan read the report and issued a scathing order slamming the officer for what she termed “blatant dereliction of duty”.
“It is quite bizarre that the serving officer of the concerned Police Station has little to no idea of what was sent by this court, who exactly sent it and against whom,” she wrote.
She further stated that Banwarilal’s actions amounted to a “patent and grave error”, expressing grave concern over the potential abuse of power if such carelessness was allowed to go unpunished.
“Without giving an inch of attention to the process, he first carelessly mentions the proclamation as an NBW, and he then just wrote the name of the presiding officer (judge) quite blindly,” her order said.
“If such negligent police officials are made free to serve processes in such a blind form… they will run amok, thus trampling upon the precious fundamental rights to liberty of anyone per their whims and fancies,” the court warned.
Taking swift action, the court directed that the order be forwarded to senior police officials including the Inspector General of Police, Agra Range, the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, and the Superintendent of Police, Firozabad, demanding a formal inquiry.
Reacting to the grave procedural violation, Firozabad SSP Saurabh Dixit suspended Sub-Inspector Banwarilal and initiated further investigation. The court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for April 26, 2025.
