Allahabad HC Slams UP Police for Arbitrary Surveillance, Quashes History-Sheet Against Cow Slaughter Accused
In a scathing order aimed at curbing police overreach, the Allahabad High Court has directed the closure of a history sheet opened against Mohammad Wajir, a man booked under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act eight years ago.
The court came down heavily on the police, stressing that they cannot wield “unbridled and uncanalised power” to restrict citizens’ fundamental freedoms.
Hearing Wajir’s writ petition challenging the order of Superintendent of Police, Siddharth Nagar, dated June 23, 2025, the court found that the UP Police had acted illegally and arbitrarily by placing him under surveillance solely based on a single case registered in 2016.
The SP had rejected Wajir’s representation for the closure of History-Sheet No. 18-A (Category), citing Police Regulations 228 and 240.
However, the court found that the order lacked substance and violated both the spirit and letter of the law.
“Police Have No Licence to Enter Names at Whim”
The court strongly criticised the police for abusing surveillance registers, remarking:
“We are of the considered view that Regulation 228 and 240 do not give an unbridled, uncanalised power to the police to use it in such a way which has the necessary consequence of squeezing out the fundamental freedom of the citizen.”
It added:
“Evidently, police do not possess a licence to enter the names of whoever they like or dislike in the surveillance register.
Ordinarily, the names of persons with a previous criminal record alone are entered… They must be proclaimed offenders, previous convicts…
Names of persons who are reasonably believed to be habitual offenders or receivers of stolen property, whether convicted or not, can be categorised and entered under the Police Regulation
Petitioner Had No Criminal Antecedents
Wajir’s counsel argued that the petitioner was not a habitual offender and faced only one case under Sections 3/5/7 of the Cow Slaughter Act.
The investigation was complete, a chargesheet had been filed, and Wajir was on bail. No other FIR, NCR, or complaint had ever been filed against him.
The counsel further submitted that the UP Police had “blatantly misused” the provisions of the Police Regulations, including paragraphs 228, 229, 231, and 233, to open a history-sheet without cogent or reliable material—defeating the regulation’s stated purpose of monitoring only habitual offenders.
Court Tears Into SP’s Order
After reviewing the SP’s justification, the bench found it careless and baseless: We have noticed that the representation… has very casually been rejected… stating therein that the provisions in Police Regulation 228 and 240 authorise police to open a history-sheet.
However, there is nothing to substantiate that the petitioner is involved in offences envisaged by Regulation 228 (A)… Admittedly, the petitioner has no criminal antecedents and, therefore, the order dated 23.06.2025 cannot be left to stand.”
The court went further, ruling:…There exists no evidence to support the act of opening the history sheet… Therefore, it deserves to be quashed… The writ petition is allowed… The respondents are directed to close the present history sheet… and not keep surveillance on the petitioner.”
A Blow to Arbitrary Policing
This landmark ruling is a sharp reprimand to the UP Police, which the court effectively accused of weaponising surveillance regulations to harass citizens.
The HC made it clear that history-sheets and surveillance registers are not tools of personal vendetta or unchecked state control, but mechanisms strictly for habitual criminals.
By ordering the immediate closure of the history sheet and ending surveillance on Wajir, the court reaffirmed its commitment to protecting constitutional freedoms from arbitrary policing.
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