Allahabad High Court Bars Access To Victim Statements Until Chargesheet Review

The Allahabad High Court has mandated that no individual has the right to obtain a certified copy of a victim’s statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (now Section 183 BNSS) until the court has formally taken cognizance of the chargesheet or police report.

A bench consisting of Justice Vivek Kumar Birla and Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deswal issued this directive.

Insights

In its ruling, the court highlighted issues arising from the unauthorized release of victim statements.

It noted that in numerous cases, accused individuals have used these statements to contest the First Information Report (FIR).

The bench criticized lower courts for issuing certified copies of these statements, stating that such actions are legally untenable.

The Supreme Court has similarly ruled that neither the accused nor any other party has the right to access the victim’s statements recorded under Section 164 CrPC until the court has reviewed the chargesheet or police report.

The Allahabad High Court’s order mandates that after recording a victim’s statement under Section 164 CrPC, the investigating officer must receive and keep it confidential until the chargesheet or police report is filed.

The court further directed that investigating officers must refrain from distributing these statements during the investigation.

This ruling emerged during the consideration of a petition filed by Ujala and others, who sought to have a kidnapping charge quashed.

The petitioners contended that the accused had married and engaged in consensual physical relations, seeking dismissal of the criminal proceedings.

The case in question involved an FIR registered on June 27, 2024, at Thana Bardah, District Azamgarh, under Sections 363 and 366 of the Indian Penal Code.

The petitioners had relied on the victim’s statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC to support their plea for quashing the FIR.

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