Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday directed departmental action against a cop and awarded Rs 2 lakh compensation to a man who was illegally arrested by the police in Punjab for not making way to a police vehicle on a narrow road.
Taking serious exception to “high handedness” by the Punjab Police, the court also directed that Rs1 lakh of the compensation would be recovered from the salary of a Punjab Police Sub Inspector for illegally arresting the man.
The case involved a fake NDPS case against a man, a resident of Punjab’s Kapurthala district, who was illegally detained and then slapped with a fake case under the NDPS Act after he failed to give way on a narrow road to a police vehicle.
According to the High Court order, “the petitioner pulled over to let the police vehicle pass but the police officials became annoyed as the petitioner did not initially give them passage and subsequently implicated him in this case.”
The man was detained by the police on June 24, 2024, while his arrest was shown on June 26 under the NDPS Act. The police claimed that the man had “thrown a packet of pills” on the ground while being chased by a police vehicle.
However, during the court proceedings, the police’s claim did not stand as the court looked into the call detail records (CDRs) of his phone.
The CDRs and location records proved that he was in the custody of the police before any formal arrest was shown to have taken place.
The court found that the “pills” allegedly claimed to have been recovered from the petitioner were paracetamol pills, which was proved in the forensic examination.
Despite the report, the accused police official failed to file a closure report in the case and the man stayed in jail for 75 days before being granted bail by the court on September 13, the court said.
In his order, the court further observed that the police failed to file a closure report till September 17, when the man was finally discharged of all allegations.
After the issue came before the High Court, a DIG-level inquiry was ordered into the incident, with a report being filed in November.
“It is appalling to witness such blatant violation where those entrusted with the duty to uphold the rule of law failed to perform their duties. The Court finds the conduct unacceptable and deeply concerning, reflecting a systematic failure that undermines the public trust,” a bench of Justice Kirti Singh observed in a verdict passed on December 3.
The status report filed by the police also admitted that the accused sub-inspector, who was the investigating officer in the case had been involved in at least two more cases where FIRs under the NDPS act were registered which turned out to be salt acetaminophen (Paracetamol) instead of a drug.
The Amicus curiae in the case informed the court that the conduct of the Sub Inspector was “questionable”.
“The failure of the authority to act in a timely manner has not only violated the petitioner’s fundamental right but also highlighted the misuse of power, causing undue mental and emotional distress. The prolonged incarceration under-scores the need for accountability and prompt action within the justice system to prevent such abuses of authority.” the court observed further.
“The state of Punjab shall pay a compensation to the tune of Rs.2,00,000/- which shall be paid to the petitioner within a period of one month and 50 per cent of this compensation amount shall be recovered from the salary of the erring official.” the court directed.
Additionally, the man has raised concerns about the right to privacy and the Right to be Forgotten, claiming that his employment prospects would be affected if the fact of his arrest/ fake case was made public. The High Court has therefore directed the Registry to mask the name and identification details of the man from all digital records of the case.
