Ahmedabad, Sep 2 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday directed the Gujarat government to pay Rs 7.5 lakh as compensation to a woman, who had been paraded in public after her arrest in an alleged forgery case, for the violation of her human rights.
Payal Goti, arrested in the 2024 Amreli fake letter case, was later released on bail and three policemen were suspended.
The order was passed by an NHRC bench of Chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian and members Justice (Dr) Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi and Vijaya Bharathi Sayani during the Commission's two-day open hearing in Gandhinagar.
Goti's lawyer Brij Sheth said the Commission found that procedures under the Code of Criminal Procedure or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were not followed during her arrest.
The Commission also noted that the police had not opposed Goti's bail plea, and had later filed a 'C' summary report (seeking to withdraw the case), he said.
"The state government has been ordered to pay Rs 7.5 lakh in compensation to Payal-ben," Sheth said.
Goti and three others were arrested in December 2024 for allegedly forging and circulating a fake letter purportedly issued by the Amreli taluka panchayat president to defame BJP MLA and minister Kaushik Vekariya.
Goti, a computer operator, was accused of helping type, print and convert the document into a PDF before it was shared on social media. The accused were booked under various provisions of the BNS and the Information Technology Act related to forgery, misinformation and defamation.
The woman alleged that she was detained around midnight while the FIR was registered later, around 5.30 am. She was kept at the Local Crime Branch office, she claimed.
Further, the then Amreli Superintendent of Police disclosed her identity at a press conference, and she and the other accused were paraded through Amreli town the following day in the name of crime scene reconstruction, Goti claimed. She also alleged that she was assaulted in police custody.
Goti was granted bail in January 2025.
She was only partially satisfied with the NHRC's decision, Goti said on Wednesday, adding that her petition before the Gujarat High Court seeking action against the police officers was still pending.
Following her allegations, three personnel of the Amreli Local Crime Branch -- head constable Kishan Ansodariya and constables Bajrang Mulyasiya and Hina Mevada -- were suspended pending an inquiry for negligence of duty.
