Did A ‘Ghost’ File Land Dispute Case In Court? Allahabad HC Pulls Up Cops

Prayagraj: A land dispute case filed a decade ago left the judiciary as confused as the general public.

The case originated in UP’s Kushinagar as an FIR was lodged against five members of a family in 2014 by Shabd Prakash – a person who passed away in 2011.

Strangely, the investigating officer (IO) recorded statements and filed a chargesheet, hence the case continued.

Once the case was moved to Allahabad High Court, Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery asked the Kushinagar Superintendent of Police (SP) how a dead person could file an FIR.

Purushottam Singh, the accused, his two brothers and two sons had challenged the chargesheet.

Their counsel Rajesh Kumar Singh presented a death certificate submitted by Prakash’s wife Mamta, proving his demise in 2011.

The court couldn’t believe that the IO had not only filed an FIR in 2014, but also recorded statements of the dead.

The court noted that in 2023, an affidavit opposing the petition in the High Court was allegedly signed by the dead person.

On reviewing the case, the high court quashed the FIR against Purushottam and his family members.

Expressing displeasure and strong reservations, the court directed the High Court Bar Association president to send a copy of the order.

Advising the lawyer who filed an affidavit in the name of the dead petitioner to exercise caution in future, the Allahabad High Court ordered the Kushinagar SP to investigate how a dead person could file a case and how the IO could record a statement of a ‘ghost’.