Prayagraj (UP), Sep 11 The Allahabad High court has dismissed pleas seeking relief to police personnel accused of repeatedly beating people in custody and molesting women.
The court said such violence cannot be described as part of police duty and can only be termed a crime.
The bench of Justice Madan Pal Singh observed that the victims were allegedly subjected to repeated beatings in police custody after their hands and feet were tied with a rope and they were laid face down.
In its order dated September 9, the court said such violence cannot be termed part of police duty and can only be described as a heinous crime and nor can it be argued that police merely overstepped their limits slightly in the course of an investigation.
The court said police personnel involved in such conduct are not entitled to any protection under section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The court was hearing two applications filed by the police personnel, including female personnel, challenging a trial court's September 27, 2024, order rejecting their discharge applications in a case arising from the Baberu police station in Banda district.
The applicants had claimed protection under section 197 of the CrPC on the ground that the alleged acts were committed in the course of official duties.
The high court, however found that the trial court had "not committed any error" in rejecting their discharge pleas and dismissed both applications as "devoid of merits".
The facts of the case were that in 2022, an FIR was registered at the police station under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). During the investigation, four constables were sent to Padari village to serve the notices.
The accused and their family members allegedly abused and assaulted the constables. Following this, a police team was dispatched to the village and four women were arrested on the night of May 13, 2022, while four men, including an informant, were arrested the next day.
During the police action, allegations of illegal assault, molestation, custodial violence, looting and false implication were made by the complainant and an FIR was registered against nine named and several unidentified police personnel, including the applicants.
The trial court had rejected their discharge plea and hence, the police personnel had filed the present petition before the high court.
