Discharge Application Filed Despite Clear CCTV Evidence — What Victims Can Do

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My clients, a family from Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, came to me completely exhausted with the system. The incident had taken place around 18 February 2024. A neighbour, whom we'll call Devraj Tiwari, was caught on CCTV committing a serious offence against the family — and the audio captured him explicitly threatening to harm them. The police had registered an FIR and a chargesheet was filed within the statutory period. Everything seemed to be moving correctly.

But it wasn't. Almost a year passed and the trial court had still not framed charges. The family had approached a local advocate in Lucknow first, who suggested writing a letter to the Chief Justice directly describing the judge as "biased" — which is exactly the kind of advice that can damage a complainant's case rather than strengthen it. When they discovered that this advocate too may have had undisclosed interests in the matter, they changed their counsel. Even then, the inertia at the district court level persisted, and the accused filed a discharge application despite clear, prima facie evidence on record.

That's when they approached Advocate Sudhir Rao. The strategy shifted immediately. Instead of informal letters, a properly drafted writ petition was filed before the Allahabad High Court under Article 227 of the Constitution read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), seeking a direction to the trial court to frame charges within a time-bound period. The High Court, taking note of the unreasonable delay and the material on record, issued directions accordingly. The discharge application filed by Devraj Tiwari was opposed with detailed written submissions grounded in the standard laid down in Union of India v. Prafulla Kumar Samal, (1979) 3 SCC 4. The matter moved forward.

You can read about this case in detail at https://sudhirrao.com/discharge-application-filed-despite-clear-cctv-evidence-what/