The Bombay High Court has ordered the Maharashtra government to pay compensation of Rs 50,000 each to a lawyer and an ex-serviceman who were handcuffed by police, holding that they were subjected to “humiliation”.
Court stresses upholding police motto
In its order passed on Tuesday, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, the court’s Nagpur bench said the motto of the Maharashtra Police, “Sadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanaya” (to protect the good and punish the evil), must be upheld, the PTI reported.
Duo ‘humiliated’ during transit
The court observed that the duo was “humiliated” when they were handcuffed and taken on a state transport bus from a police station in Amravati to the tehsildar’s office, where they were later granted bail.
“The motto of Maharashtra State Police is ‘Sadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanaya’ which needs to be respected,” the court said, directing the state government to pay Rs 50,000 each to lawyer Yogeshwar Kawade and ex-serviceman Avinash Date within eight weeks, the news agency reported.
Duty of law enforcers highlighted
A bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nivedita Mehta said that those who administer the law must remember their duty not only to the accused and the victim, but also to the state and society at large.
“Such incidents involving police tend to erode public confidence in the criminal justice system more than those involving private individuals,” the court noted.
Police action termed ‘unwarranted humiliation’
The bench held that the assistant police inspector and two constables who handcuffed the petitioners subjected them to “unwarranted humiliation and indignity which cannot be inflicted on any citizen of India”, making them entitled to compensation.
Background of the case
According to the petition, Kawade and Date had gone to Talegaon police station in Amravati district in August 2010 to file a complaint against a man who allegedly damaged Date’s car.
The man, however, lodged a cross-complaint, accusing the duo of assault and issuing threats.
Allegations of illegal detention and mistreatment
The petitioners claimed that the police illegally detained them after midnight based on the complaint and allegedly stripped them and made them sit in their undergarments. The following day, they were handcuffed and taken to the tehsildar’s office on a state transport bus.
The tehsildar later ordered the police to remove the handcuffs and granted them bail.
Reputation damage and legal violation
According to PTI, the petition further stated that the act of handcuffing had damaged their reputation and was unlawful, as they were neither habitual offenders nor hardened criminals.
Police inquiry conducted
The Superintendent of Police, Amravati, informed the court that an inquiry had been conducted against the policemen involved and necessary action had been taken.
Court emphasises need for compensation
However, the High Court held that in such cases, victims must also be compensated monetarily.
“In cases of infringement of fundamental rights, the court cannot stop at merely declaring that action has been taken. It must go further and grant compensatory relief for the wrong done,” the bench said.
“To repair the wrong and provide judicial redress for legal injury is a compulsion of judicial conscience,” it added.
(With PTI inputs)
