Allahabad High Court Quashes Cognizance Order Against 13 Police Personnel in SC/ST Act Case

Case Snapshot

Case Name: Bhuvnesh Kumari & 12 Ors. v. State of U.P. & Anr.

Citation / Neutral Citation: 2026:AHC:192431

High Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad

Bench: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Santosh Rai

Date of Judgment: 15th September, 2026

Area of Law: Criminal Law, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Section 197 CrPC, Protest Petition, Cognizance

Judgment Headline

Cognizance order against police personnel quashed; protest petition cannot be mechanically treated as complaint.

The Judgment in One Line

Allahabad High Court sets aside cognizance order against 13 police personnel, holding Special Court erred in treating protest petition as complaint based on affidavits without considering statutory safeguards.

Why This Judgment Matters

This judgment provides crucial guidance on the procedure to be followed when a Final Report is rejected and a protest petition is treated as a complaint. It establishes that affidavits, photographs, and newspaper cuttings accompanying a protest petition cannot be mechanically treated as substantive evidence. The ruling also clarifies that the applicability of Section 197 CrPC (sanction for public servants) must be considered at the threshold when police personnel are accused of acts committed in discharge of official du

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