Was a UP Judge Really Threatened Like a Goon 37 Years Ago? Allahabad HC Now Wants Answers

Lucknow | December 3, 2025 The Allahabad High Court has reopened a decades-old question that sounds almost unreal today: Did a Superintendent of Police really threaten a trial judge like a street bully back in 1988? And if so, what happened to him afterward? The issue came up while the High Court was hearing an appeal related to a 1988 murder conviction in Lalitpur, where 28 people had been found guilty. During the hearing, the Bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Sanjiv Kumar came across two paragraphs in the old sessions court judgment that immediately caught their attention. These paragraphs, written by the then trial judge LN Rai, described how the district’s Superintendent of Police, BK Bhola, allegedly tried to intimidate him during the trial. According to the trial judge’s remarks from 37 years ago, SP Bhola had shown “audacity” and “dare” by warning the judge that he would drag him to the police station if he summoned certain records, including wireless messages, or insisted on calling the SP as a defence witness. The High Court said the description was so serious that it could not simply be ignored, even after so many years. Judge Rai had recommended departmental action at the time, but he chose not to refer the matter to the High Court for criminal contempt. Now, looking back at the gravity of those observations, the current Bench said the comments were “damning” enough to warrant a fresh look. What makes the matter even more curious is that the High Court does not know whether BK Bhola is still alive, retired, or receiving pension. Because of this uncertainty, the court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police to file an affidavit by December 9. The court wants to know who the officer is, whether he is still around, and what his current status is—living, deceased, in service, or retired. The DGP has also been asked to provide Bhola’s full details, including his residential address and police station jurisdiction if he is alive. Most importantly, the court wants to know what action—if any—was taken after the trial judge’s original recommendation in 1988. The Bench also noted that the sessions court judgment mentioned other officers, but it said those names could be examined later. For now, the focus is on the SP, because the allegations against him were described as behavior unworthy of a senior police official, almost “like a goon,” as the trial judge put it. The High Court’s intervention has raised an unexpected but important question about what happens when powerful officials try to interfere with the judicial process. Even though nearly four decades have passed, the court has made it clear that intimidation of a judge—if it did happen—cannot be brushed aside simply because time has moved on. As the state’s police leadership prepares its response, the case has once again spotlighted the fragile line between authority and misuse of power, and how incidents buried in old records can resurface with force when the judiciary decides it is time for clarity. The next hearing will reveal whether the officer in question is traceable and what accountability, if any, was enforced over the years. For now, the High Court’s unexpected revival of this old controversy has triggered new curiosity about an incident that many had forgotten—but the law certainly hasn’t. Was a UP Judge Really Threatened Like a Goon 37 Years Ago? Allahabad HC Now Wants Answers It’s not every day that a 37–year–old courtroom mystery makes a comeback, but this one has returned with enough drama to rival a crime thriller. The Allahabad High Court has reopened a shocking claim from 1988, where a sessions judge had written that the then Lalitpur Superintendent of Police, BK Bhola, threatened him during a murder trial. Yes, threatened a judge — like a full-on street goon, as the judge described. While hearing an appeal linked to that same murder case involving 28 convicts, the High Court stumbled upon two paragraphs in the old judgment that raised eyebrows. The trial judge, LN Rai, had mentioned that SP Bhola warned him against summoning police records or calling the SP as a defence witness. The claim said Bhola even threatened to drag the judge to the police station if he insisted. The High Court called these remarks “damning” and said such serious allegations couldn’t be ignored, even after nearly four decades. What made it more intriguing is that the court doesn’t even know if SP Bhola is alive today, retired, or still receiving pension. So now the UP DGP has been ordered to file an affidavit with all details — whether Bhola is alive, his address, his service status, and most importantly, what action was taken back then when the judge reported the incident. Though the old judgment mentions other officers too, the court said they can be looked into later. For now, the focus is on the SP, because threatening a judge goes beyond misconduct — it’s an attack on the justice system itself. This sudden revival of a forgotten case reminds us that even buried truths can resurface, and when they do, they demand answers. And the court wants those answers by December 9.