MP HC Upholds Rejection Of Man’s Six-Month Call-Record Bid In Alleged Murder Complaint, Leaves Door Open To Renew With Specific Material

The applicant alleged that Shivnath Manjhi, who had been residing at his house, was murdered on 16 May 2023 while the applicant was away, and that the deceased’s body was left at the house.

The applicant alleged that the police had taken no effective action against respondent Nos. 2 to 6 and filed a complaint against them.

During those proceedings, he sought the call detail records (CDRs) of those respondents for the six months preceding the death, asserting that the records could reveal communications with the deceased.

The Judicial Magistrate First Class rejected the application; the applicant challenged that order under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).

The State opposed the challenge, noting that the police report had not been received and no complainant’s witness had yet been examined.

Section 528 of the BNSS confers inherent jurisdiction to prevent abuse of the process of the Court and secure the ends of justice.

A court may permit production of relevant electronic evidence where its necessity is established; however, a direction to produce such evidence cannot rest merely on suspicion or a general assertion that it may reveal a person’s involvement. The relevance of the material sought and the stage of the proceedings are material considerations.

No precedent was cited.

The Magistrate had noted that the police report remained outstanding and that no witness had been examined for the complainant.

The applicant had provided no specific supporting material demonstrating why the CDRs covering the entire six-month period were necessary to decide the complaint at that stage; his oral assertions, suspicion, and allegation of police inaction were insufficient.

Accordingly, the refusal disclosed no illegality or perversity warranting the High Court’s intervention under Section 528.

It granted the applicant liberty to renew the request before the Magistrate at an appropriate stage, upon demonstrating the relevance and necessity of the specific electronic records sought; any renewed application is to be considered independently on its merits.