Chargesheet Cannot be Put in Public Domain for Free Access: SC

New Delhi: Investigating agencies cannot put the chargesheet filed in criminal cases in the public domain for free access, opined the Supreme Court of India on Friday.

The apex court also dismissed the PIL that sought free public access to chargesheets. A Supreme Court Bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar felt uploading a chargesheet in the public domain will contradict provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The SC said a chargesheet is not a ‘public document’ and it cannot be published online.

On January 9, the SC bench reserved its verdict related to the plea.

The apex court had orally stated that if chargesheet is made accessible to those unrelated to the case, then it might be misused.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by journalist Saurav Das seeking free public access to chargesheet by police in accordance with Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.