Make audio-video recording of witness statements mandatory: Allahabad HC to DGP

The Allahabad high court has directed the director general of police (DGP) to make audio-video recording of witness statements mandatory for investigation officers (IOs) in the state, observing that such a step would make criminal investigations more transparent and fair.

Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal passed the order while hearing a dowry related bail application when the IO, who was present before the court, admitted that he had not prepared an audio-video recording while recording the first informant’s statement under section 180 Bhartiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The court noted that section 180(3) BNSS, read with Rule 20(1) of the BNSS Rules, 2024, permits an investigating officer to record a witness’s statement through audio-video electronic communication.

However, the IO tendered an unconditional apology after the court confronted him with the DGP’s circular dated July 21, 2025, and another circular dated August 4, 2026, concerning the audio-video recording of statements.

The high court noted that it had come across a number of cases in which IOs had not prepared audio-video recordings “just to save themselves from the allegation that the statements of the witnesses under section 180 BNSS are written by IOs themselves by copying the FIR itself”.

The court also noted that the DGP’s circular no. 24/2025 makes audio-video recording of the statement of a rape victim compulsory, while recording of other statements under Section 180 BNSS has been left optional. The court observed that this option “has been widely misused by several Investigating Officers”.

The court also noted that the DGP’s circular no. 24/2025 makes audio-video recording of the statement of a rape victim compulsory, while recording of other statements under Section 180 BNSS has been left optional. The court observed that this option “has been widely misused by several Investigating Officers”.

“Therefore, this Court directs the DGP, U.P. to consider, making it mandatory to prepare audio-video of statements recorded under Section 180 BNSS, so as to make the investigation more transparent and fair and same would also be helpful to the Court while deciding the bail application and other judicial proceedings,” the court observed.

The court in its September 15 order further directed the DGP to apprise all IOs of the guidelines so that “real culprit may be brought to justice and innocent person may not be subject to harassment due to faulty investigation”. The court passed these directive while hearing a bail application filed by one Chandrakant in a dowry related case of Agra.