In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking to make chargesheets filed under the Criminal Procedure Code 1973 publicly available on government websites. While acknowledging the importance of transparency in criminal justice, the Court held that the statutory scheme restricts disclosure of chargesheets and supporting documents to the accused and courts only. The Court distinguished this from its earlier direction that FIRs be published online, finding that chargesheets contain sensitive investigative material affecting the rights of the accused, victim, and investigating agency. Placing complete chargesheets in public domain would violate the procedural code and these stakeholders' interests, contrary to principles of natural justice and statutory design.", "summary_100":"The Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking to make chargesheets filed under the Criminal Procedure Code 1973 publicly available on government websites. While acknowledging the importance of transparency in criminal justice, the Court held that the statutory scheme restricts disclosure of chargesheets and supporting documents to the accused and courts only. The Court distinguished this from its earlier direction that FIRs be published online, finding that chargesheets contain sensitive investigative material affecting the rights of the accused, victim, and investigating agency. Placing complete chargesheets in public domain would violate the procedural code and these stakeholders' interests.", <parameter name="subject_tags">["Criminal Procedure", "Right to Information", "Constitutional Law", "Access to Justice", "Transparency", "Public Interest Litigation", "Criminal Investigation"]
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