Allahabad High Court Raps Ballia SP For Treating Court Order As FIR

Last Updated:July 14, 2025, 17:10 IST

Justice JJ Munir found it surprising that the order of the court itself was used as the written FIR, and entered directly into the police register.

The high court issued a show-cause notice to SP Omvir Singh, asking him to explain why his action should not be treated as contemptuous.

The Allahabad High Court recently expressed shock and disapproval over the conduct of the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Ballia, who allegedly treated the court’s own order as a First Information Report (FIR) while registering a case regarding a government employee’s missing service book.

In 2016, a writ petition was filed before the high court by Devendra Kumar Singh, who claimed he was entitled to be appointed against the vacancy created by the retirement of one Ram Preet Singh, a Class IV employee at Shri Langtoo Baba Intermediate College in Harihan Kala, Ballia. While Singh asserted that Ram Preet retired in 1991 with a recorded date of birth as July 1, 1931, the authorities claimed he served until 2000, effectively invalidating Singh’s appointment.

Court, while hearing the matter earlier, had directed the production of Ram Preet Singh’s original service book. However, on multiple hearings, officials failed to produce it and instead submitted a duplicate copy. This duplicate, produced through unofficial channels and without any formal order for reconstruction, was viewed with suspicion by the court. It was noted that the service book bore no official explanation or documentation to justify its creation and appeared to be a “surreptitious" document aimed at undermining the petitioner’s case.

Taking serious note of the missing original record and the possible manipulation of employment history, the high court on May 29, 2025, directed the SP, Ballia, to register an FIR, investigate the disappearance, and recover the original service book. The police were to probe all involved, including officials of the institution and the education department, whose actions might have contributed to the loss or manipulation of records.

In compliance, an affidavit was filed by SP Omvir Singh confirming that an FIR had been registered.

However, on July 3, 2025, upon examining the method adopted, Justice JJ Munir found it surprising that the order of the court itself was used as the written FIR, and entered directly into the police register. Terming this move “prima facie contumacious" and “manifestly illegal," court pulled up the senior police officer for what it considered a serious procedural lapse.

“The Superintendent of Police ought to know by now that even if this Court directs the registration of an FIR, it is an Officer of the Court who carries out the directions and gives a written information to the Police. The orders of the court cannot be taken as a written first information," Justice Munir remarked.

The high court issued a show-cause notice to SP Omvir Singh, asking him to explain why his action should not be treated as contemptuous and why the improperly lodged FIR should not be expunged. Court further directed that a proper FIR be filed based on a written complaint, either by the petitioner or a police officer.

Salil Tiwari

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...Read More

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...

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