Supreme Court orders action against Mau SPs from 2023 over ‘casual approach’ in criminal case trial

Taking strong note of the “casual approach” of the Uttar Pradesh Police in a criminal case trial, the Supreme Court has directed the State Government to initiate departmental proceedings against the Superintendents of Police who have served in Mau district since 2023.

A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan noted that only two of 54 prosecution witnesses had been examined in the case, lodged in 2017, despite charges being framed against six accused in March 2023.

It noted that the 14-year-old son of the petitioner was kidnapped on September 27, 2017, and that neither he nor his remains have been found to date.

“This leaves us in no doubt that the prosecution, which is accountable for producing witnesses, has been absolutely slack in its duty towards the court in the conduct of the criminal trial,” the Bench said in its order of September 21, 2026.