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Bombay HC flags ‘copy-paste’ statements in chargesheets, raise doubts over whether police call witnesses at all

Taking suo motu cognisance of the issue, the Bombay High Court says such identical statements are often found in chargesheets filed in domestic violence cases.

The chargesheet was filed against five people who have moved the court seeking the quashing of a suicide abetment case booked against them in Jalgaon in 2024 over the death of a 17-year-old.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court raised concerns over the use of ‘copy-paste’ statements of witnesses in chargesheets, stating that no two witnesses can give identical statements and that such a practice by police can give an advantage to the accused.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the issue, the court directed the Maharashtra government to prepare specific guidelines for investigating officers, including on how to record witness statements.

“[A]fter going through the entire chargesheet, we have noticed that even in a 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,” a bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Sanjay A Deshmukh said in an order on April 29.

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The chargesheet was filed against five people who have moved the court seeking the quashing of a suicide abetment case booked against them in Jalgaon in 2024 over the death of a 17-year-old.

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The court said that such “copy-paste statements” are often seen, including in domestic violence cases under Indian Penal Code section 498A, raising doubts over whether the witnesses were called by the police at all to record their statements.

“But when now we are coming across with such copy-paste statements in serious offence like Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, it is then high time to take cognizance of the issue suo moto and to consider as to what are those shortcomings or difficulties for the investigating officer/officers when they record such copy-paste statements,” the court said.

The court also appointed an amicus curiae, advocate Mukul Kulkarni. “He may collect data and suggest measures to be taken by the State Government to avoid such situations of copy-paste and to overall improve the quality of investigation,” it said, posting the hearing to June 20, with directions to the amicus curiae to file a petition.

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