Man Illegally Detained By Delhi Police For Half An Hour, Awarded Rs 50,000 Compensation
The Delhi High Court has ordered the Delhi Police to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to a man whom the cops illegally detained.
The Delhi HC bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad made the order in the plea filed by one Pankaj Kumar Sharma, who claimed that he was detained by the police for half an hour and kept locked up despite not committing any crime.
Why Sharma was detained
According to Sharma, who runs a shop in the national capital, he was illegally detained at the Badarpur Police Station on September 2, 2022.
On that day, a woman was attacked and injured by a vegetable vendor in the area, and she approached Sharma seeking help.
Sharma informed the matter to the police, but when the cops reached the spot, they picked him up and placed him in the lock-up without an FIR against him. He was released after nearly half an hour of detention.?
Sharma later filed a plea in the Delhi High Court seeking compensation for his illegal arrest and detention.
What Delhi Police said
During the case hearing, the Delhi Police admitted in the HC that an inquiry was initiated against Sub-Inspector Rajeev Gautam and Sub-Inspector Shamim Khan, and a punishment of censure has been imposed on them.
But on October 4, while delivering the judgment in the case, Justice Prasad said that police officers cannot be law unto themselves and a meaningful message must be sent out to the authorities.
What Delhi HC's order said
This Court is troubled at the way the citizens are being treated by the Police authorities who behave as if they are above the law, the Court said.
"The time spent in the lock-up by the petitioner, even for a short while, cannot absolve the police officers who have deprived the petitioners of his liberty without following the due procedure established by law... This Court is of the opinion that a meaningful message must be sent to the authorities that police officers cannot be law unto themselves," Justice Prasad said, according to Bar and Bench.
The judge observed that even though it was for a short period, the petitioner was deprived of his personal liberty, a right protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
"This Court is deeply troubled by the fact that the petitioner was not even arrested. He was simply picked up from the spot, brought to the police station and placed inside the lock-up for no rhyme or reason. The highhanded way in which the Police authorities have acted, throwing to winds the constitutional and fundamental rights of a citizen, is appalling," the Court said.
Why censure is not enough punishment?
While awarding a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the petitioner, the court said that the amount should be recovered from the two police officers.
The censure should be of such nature that other officers, too, must not emulate such actions in future... In the facts of this case, even though the illegal detention of the Petitioner was only for about half an hour, this Court is inclined to grant compensation of Rs 50,000 to the petitioner, which shall be recovered from the salaries of respondents No.4 and 5 (Sub-Inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan)," the Court ordered.
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