The Allahabad High Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to a man allegedly kept in illegal detention despite a court stay on his arrest, while directing disciplinary proceedings against the concerned SHO for dereliction of official duty.
The Allahabad High Court has taken a firm view of police overreach and ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to a man who was allegedly kept in “illegal detention” even after a court order had stayed his arrest.
In a scathing judgment dated May 29, a division bench comprising Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi directed the state to initiate immediate disciplinary proceedings against the Station House Officer (SHO) involved in the arrest. The court cited “dereliction in the due discharge of official duty.”
Factual Backgrounds
The matter arose from a habeas corpus petition filed by Anil Soni. Soni was booked at the Itwa police station in Siddharthnagar district under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (sexual intercourse by deceit), along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR was lodged by a woman with whom Soni was reportedly involved in a relationship for about two years. Soni challenged the FIR in the Allahabad High Court.
On April 1, the High Court passed an interim order staying his arrest. However, despite this protection, Soni was arrested by the local SHO on April 4. The court’s interim order was also uploaded on April 6 on its official website.
On the same day as the arrest, Soni’s brother prepared a notarized affidavit to inform the police about the High Court’s stay order. Soni’s counsel also directly contacted the SHO requesting that the arrest be stopped, but the police allegedly proceeded anyway.
During the hearing, the Uttar Pradesh government attempted to justify the arrest. The state argued that the SHO was compelled to carry out the arrest because Soni and his family did not produce a physical copy of the interim stay order at the time.
Observations of the Court:
The bench rejected this explanation outright. The judges noted that the April 1 interim order was passed in the presence of both the government counsel and the counsel appearing for the informant. Therefore, the court held that the relevant state authorities were already aware of the protection granted to Soni.
The bench expressed serious concern that the protection granted by the court was not honoured, and that the authorities continued to keep Soni in custody even after he filed the habeas corpus petition and the court sought formal responses from the state.
The court observed:
“We have noted that this unfortunate trend is given the momentum. Learned counsel for the state do either not intimate the orders passed by this Court to police authorities as a result of which the authorities do not comply the order passed by this Court, or the police authorities are disrespectful towards the Court orders and they act in mala fide manner,”
To address what it termed “mala fide” conduct, the High Court directed the following:
- Rs 5 lakh compensation: The Uttar Pradesh government must pay Rs 5 lakh to Anil Soni for the alleged illegal detention.
- Disciplinary proceedings: Disciplinary action is to be initiated against the concerned SHO of the Itwa police station for indiscipline and for violating court orders.
The court has fixed the next hearing for July 13. In the meantime, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Siddharthnagar has been instructed to file a compliance affidavit confirming (1) the payment of compensation and (2) the disciplinary steps taken against the SHO.