The Bombay High Court has raised serious concerns over a recurring investigative practice adopted by police authorities across Maharashtra, wherein witness statements in criminal cases are being "copy-pasted" word-for-word by the investigating officers. The court termed this a “dangerous culture” that could potentially impact the fairness and credibility of investigations in even the most serious criminal offences.
A division bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Sanjay Deshmukh, while hearing a criminal application filed in the case Amol Nikam vs State of Maharashtra (Criminal Application No. 1091 of 2025), took suo motu cognisance of this issue. The bench observed that in many criminal cases, particularly those involving grave charges, police officers were merely replicating witness statements under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) without due diligence.
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"We have noticed that even in serious offence, the investigating officer who had recorded the statements of the witnesses under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, has literally made copy-paste of the statements. Even the paragraphs start with the same words and end with the same words. The culture of copy-paste statements is dangerous and may, in certain cases unnecessarily, give advantage to the accused persons," the court stated in its order dated April 29, 2025.
The bench encountered this issue while dealing with a plea by five family members accused of abetting the suicide of a 17-year-old girl. Though the petitioners later withdrew their application, the court chose to address the serious procedural lapses found in the investigation.
On examining the chargesheet, the court found that the statements of two witnesses were almost identical in structure and wording, differing only in the part describing their relationship with the deceased or the informant. This led the bench to question the authenticity of such statements and whether the witnesses were even called by the police during the investigation.
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“We have noticed this in many cases, including the cases under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. We may also wonder, as to whether really those witnesses are called by the police for statement under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or not, but their statements would appear in the charge-sheet,” the bench remarked.
Further, the court pointed out that in the present case, the initial police entry stated the girl’s death was accidental. However, the FIR was later registered under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) without mentioning her age. Only after obtaining her birth certificate did the police amend the charges to Section 305 IPC, applicable when the deceased is a minor or a person of unsound mind.
“That means, as on today the charge against the accused persons is that they have abetted the commission of suicide by minor, which is of course a very serious matter... when even in such serious matters if this copy-paste method is adopted, then it is not a good indication for the criminal justice system,” the court stated.
Recognizing the widespread nature and potential impact of this issue, the bench directed the State Government to frame specific guidelines for investigating officers on how to properly record statements under Section 161 CrPC. It also appointed senior counsel Mukul Kulkarni as amicus curiae to assist the court and collect data, as well as suggest concrete measures to prevent this practice and improve the overall quality of investigations.
The court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on June 27, 2025.
In the proceedings, Advocate H.P. Randhir appeared on behalf of the applicants, while Advocate N.R. Dayama represented the State of Maharashtra.
