न्यायानिर्णय Judgement

Delhi High Court Orders Police Officers to Pay ₹50k for Illegal Detention of 30-Minutes.

• In a recent court decision, a man who was wrongly held by the Delhi Police for 30 minutes was granted 50,000 rupees as compensation.
• This ruling came from the Delhi High Court in a case known as “Pankaj Kumar Sharma v Govt of NCT of Delhi & Ors.”
• Justice Subramonium Prasad, who made this decision, stated that the two police officers responsible for the petitioner’s detention, namely Sub-Inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan, should pay this compensation from their salaries.
• The court emphasized that police officers must follow the law and not act as if they are above it.
• The court expressed concern about how citizens are being treated by the police, saying that even a short time in custody cannot excuse the officers for not following the proper legal procedures.
• The case involved Pankaj Kumar Sharma, who was unlawfully detained at Delhi’s Badarpur Police Station on September 2, 2022.
• The incident began when a woman was stabbed by a vegetable seller on September 22 around 9 pm.
• She sought help from the petitioner, who then called the police. However, instead of helping him, the police detained the petitioner without even filing a report.
• The court learned that an inquiry was conducted against the officers, and they were censured as a punishment.
• However, Justice Prasad believed that this punishment was insufficient, as it would not deter other officers from similar behavior.
• The court was troubled by the fact that the petitioner was not formally arrested but was taken into custody without a valid reason.
• It criticized the police for disregarding the constitutional and fundamental rights of a citizen.
• To send a stronger message, the court ordered the payment of 50,000 rupees in compensation to the petitioner, to be taken from the salaries of the two police officers responsible for his unlawful detention.