Call records alone don’t prove conspiracy, rules HC

Bhopal/Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh high court has ruled that call detail records (CDRs) by themselves can’t establish a criminal conspiracy, underscoring that investigators must produce transcripts, voice recordings or electronic messages to support such allegations.Justice Himanshu Joshi made the observation while discharging Pramod Kumar Soni, a constable with the Jabalpur crime branch, in a sensational case involving the looting of Rs 1.45 crore from a car by police personnel led by DSP Pooja Pandey in Seoni dist in 2025.Soni had been named in the case on the ground that he made frequent calls to Pandey and another accused, DSP Pankaj Mishra, on Oct 9, 2025, the day of the incident.Discharging Soni, the judge wrote: “The entire prosecution case against the petitioner rests on a singular allegation that he was in constant telephonic contact with co-accused Pankaj Mishra, Panju Goswami and Pooja Pandey, thereby suggesting his involvement in a criminal conspiracy. The prosecution seeks to implicate the petitioner primarily on the basis of call detail records and mobile forensic analysis indicating frequent communication between the petitioner and co-accused. However, the investigation itself reveals that the petitioner had merely forwarded information received from Panju Goswami to Pankaj Mishra. Beyond this, no overt acts have been attributed to him.”The judge further said the prosecution relies heavily on CDRs. However, CDRs merely establish that calls were exchanged; they do not disclose the contents of conversation.“No transcripts, voice recordings, or electronic messages have been placed on record. Mere telephonic contact, without anything more, cannot establish criminal conspiracy,” said the judge, while discharging the constable.