A 62-year-old woman was declared dead on official records during a routine investigation of a court case in Bihar’s Samastipur district. The slowness and negligence of the police came to light when the old lady herself appeared before the Patna High Court. He appeared in the court and pleaded that he is still alive and fully healthy. After the incident, the Patna High Court took a strict stand and the Superintendent of Police of Samastipur had to tender an unconditional apology to the court.
The incident took place in Tajpur Thana area of Samastipur district. A criminal appeal case of 62-year-old Chakli Devi was pending in the Patna High Court for a long time. According to the order of the court, a regular investigation was ordered to know the current status of the petitioners. The High Court directed the officer-in-charge of Tajpur police station, Rakesh Kumar Sharma, to prepare a report in his office without visiting the spot. In this report he claimed that the petitioner Chakli Devi died.
The SPO of Sastipur submitted the report of the Tajpur police station and informed the High Court in a letter that Chakli Devi had died. On May 8, 2026, a division bench of Patna High Court comprising Chief Justice Sangam Kumar Chahu and Justice Harish Kumar dismissed the criminal appeal as the main petitioner was presumed dead and no legal heir had applied to continue the case.
When Chakli Devi learned that the police had declared her dead on paper and her court case was closed, she immediately approached the Patna High Court through her lawyer and filed an application to reopen the case. Chakli Devi argued in court that the petitioner is an uneducated woman. Erroneously, his date of birth is recorded as 01.01.1935 in his Aadhaar card and PAN card, which makes him appear to be over 90 years old in official documents. However, his ration card issued in 2018 shows his actual age as the officer-in-charge of Tajpur police station irresponsibly declared him dead without taking any documentary evidence or visiting the spot.
The High Court bench was surprised when the woman herself appeared in the court. The court summoned the SP of Samastipur and the officer-in-charge of Tajpur police station for their reply. After the incident, the Superintendent of Police of Samastipur filed an affidavit in the High Court and apologized unconditionally. The SP told the court that the officer-in-charge of Tajpur police station, Rakesh Kumar Sharma, has been suspended and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against him for allegedly sending a wrong report. However, the court accepted the mistake as a genuine mistake and ordered the suspension of the officer in charge to be revoked on humanitarian grounds. It also issued a stern warning to him to exercise utmost caution while submitting such reports in future.
After this incident, a major practical problem emerged in the court. Counsel for the state government told the court that when the police prepared such a report, the appeal memo contained only the name and address of the petitioner without any specific information about parents or spouses. This often leads to confusion in villages with multiple people having the same name. To overcome this deficiency, the Joint Registrar of the High Court assured the court that in future whenever such a verification report is sought from the police in any case, the full address of the applicant, name of the father or husband and all necessary details will be sent to the police. The court has resumed the case against Chakli Devi.