SC dismisses plea to make chargesheets public

A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah said a chargesheet is not a public document, and it can’t be made available in the public domain

The Supreme Court on January 20 dismissed a plea to publish or upload chargesheets filed by the police and investigative agencies in the public domain, saying they are “public documents”.

A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah said a chargesheet is not a public document, and it can’t be made available in the public domain.

The top court was hearing advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for independent journalist Saurav Das.

“To induce transparency, it is incumbent for the respondents [Union and the States] to make available chargesheets on their websites and enable public access so that the citizenry can stay informed, and the Press can faithfully and accurately report on criminal trials,” the petition had argued.

In the July 2022 verdict, the court had held that neither showing the Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) nor supplying the accused with a copy of the document was a violation of constitutional rights. The court had justified that the ECIR was an “internal, departmental document”.

Mr. Bhushan had argued that the court itself had, in the Youth Bar Association of India judgment, reported in 2016, had directed the public disclosure of FIRs on police/State websites.

“The logic of disclosure applies more strongly to chargesheets, for while FIRs are based on unsubstantiated allegations, chargesheets are filed after due investigation,” he had argued.