An internal police report on what led investigators to wrongly accuse a man of armed robbery in 2013 has been submitted in court but will remain under wraps.
The report was filed by Assistant Police Commissioner Mario Spiteri during libel proceedings lodged by Police Inspector Elton Taliana against It-Torċa.
Mr Taliana, who had arraigned a man who confessed to the crime, was chastised by the Police Board for failing to alert his chain of command about a mistake made by the Criminal Investigations Department.
The case involved Darryl Luke Borg, 27, who was remanded in custody after being charged with carrying out an armed robbery at The Convenience Shop, Birkirkara.
The mistake came to light two days later when Mr Taliana arraigned Roderick Grech who pleaded guilty and was handed a suspended sentence.
In the wake of the embarrassing incident, former police commissioner Peter Paul Zammit ordered an internal inquiry but its findings were never published.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said last week it was up to the new Police Commissioner to decide whether the internal report should be published.
Magistrate Francesco Depasquale ordered that the report should remain confidential, telling the lawyers of both parties that “this is for your eyes only”.