UP cop mistakes judge for thief, searches her home in shocking blunder
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New Delhi: In a shocking display of negligence, a police sub-inspector in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, mistook a sitting judge for a theft accused and proceeded to search her residence, leading to outrage from the judiciary and swift disciplinary action by senior police officials.
The incident occurred when Sub-Inspector Banwarilal, tasked with executing a proclamation order under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), began searching for Chief Judicial Magistrate Nagma Khan—who had, in fact, issued the proclamation order against the real accused, Rajkumar alias Pappu.
Rajkumar, wanted in a 2012 theft case registered at Thana North Police Station, had been absconding despite the issuance of multiple non-bailable warrants. With his continued absence, Magistrate Khan had ordered proceedings under Section 82 CrPC to declare him a proclaimed offender.
In a serious procedural blunder, Sub-Inspector Banwarilal confused the judge who issued the order with the accused named in it. In his report submitted to the court, he erroneously referred to the proclamation as a non-bailable warrant and listed Judge Khan’s name in place of the accused. He then falsely claimed that she could not be located at her residence.
The grave error came to light during a court hearing on March 23, when Magistrate Khan examined the report and expressed her shock at the officer’s lack of understanding of basic judicial procedure. Describing the conduct as a “blatant dereliction of duty,” she criticized the officer for not reading the order properly and called the mistake a “patent and grave error.”
“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,” Magistrate Khan stated in her strongly worded order. She warned that such negligence could undermine public trust in the justice system and endanger fundamental rights.
She added, “Without giving an inch of attention to the process, he first carelessly mentions the proclamation as an NBW, and then just wrote the name of the presiding officer (judge) quite blindly.”
The court emphasized the risk of allowing such carelessness to go unchecked, cautioning that it would embolden police personnel to act arbitrarily and violate citizens’ rights.
“If such negligent police officials are made free to serve processes in such a blind form, escaping the consequences of their wrongs, they will run amok, thus trampling upon the precious fundamental rights to liberty of anyone per their whims and fancies,” the court observed.
Taking serious note of the matter, the court directed that the incident be reported to senior police authorities. Copies of the court’s order were sent to the Inspector General of Police, Agra Range, the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, and the Superintendent of Police, Firozabad, with a recommendation for formal inquiry and disciplinary action.
Responding to the court’s directive, Firozabad Senior Superintendent of Police Saurabh Dixit immediately suspended Sub-Inspector Banwarilal pending further investigation. The court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for April 26, 2025.
