In a significant legal development, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Raipur on Friday took cognizance of a criminal complaint filed against three officers of the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) for allegedly fabricating a statement purportedly recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

 

The complaint, lodged by advocate Girish Chandra Dewangan, accuses Director Amresh Mishra, Additional Superintendent of Police Chandresh Thakur, and Deputy Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma of forging judicial documents to influence the course of investigation. As per the complaint, the case pertains to SEOIACB crime numbers 02/2024 and 03/2024, in which accused Nikhil Chandrakar was lodged in Dhamtari District Jail in connection with another matter. He was produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class Kamini Verma, Raipur, on July 17, 2025, purportedly for recording his statement under Section 164 CrPC.

 

However, during investigation it was revealed that no such deposition was actually recorded by the presiding magistrate. Instead, the investigating officers allegedly prepared a fabricated statement on their office computer, transferred it to a pen-drive, and presented it before the court, obtaining a printout from the court’s computer to make it appear authentic.

 

This forged document was later placed before the Supreme Court through advocates representing accused Suryakant Tiwari during proceedings related to his interim bail. Upon examination, it became evident that the document was never recorded before a magistrate. Certified copies of the order sheets dated July 16 and 17, 2025, from the same court confirmed that no Section 164 proceedings were held on those dates.

 

To verify authenticity, the documents were subjected to forensic examination by an expert. The expert’s report confirmed that the fonts used in the alleged statement differed from the fonts in certified judicial documents, and that the impugned document contained mixed fonts—an irregularity inconsistent with genuine court-generated papers.

 

The complaint further alleges that the forged statement was created with the intent to mislead the judiciary and to implicate other individuals falsely in the investigation. On the basis of the detailed complaint and supporting forensic evidence, the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Aakansha Beck, Raipur, took cognizance of the matter and issued notices to all three named officers. The court has directed Director Amresh Mishra, ASP Chandresh Thakur, and DSP Rahul Sharma to appear on October 25, 2025, and submit their written explanations.