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PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court has issued a stern reprimand to the Uttar Pradesh police over recurring failures to safeguard fundamental rights, observing that violations of personal liberty have virtually become an everyday routine in the state. In an order passed on November 3, a division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev termed the prevailing state of civil liberties in Uttar Pradesh as nothing short of shameful, pointing out that the police force appears indifferent to the constitutional freedoms guaranteed to citizens. The bench made these critical observations while adjudicating a habeas corpus writ petition filed by a young woman alleging that police had illegally detained her father for two days prior to recording his formal arrest.
Thunderstorm Claim Rejected Over Missing Footage
The court specifically addressed the recurring pattern where law enforcement agencies fail to produce police station closed-circuit television recordings whenever allegations of unlawful confinement are raised before the judiciary. The bench remarked that whenever judicial orders require the submission of security recordings, the police almost invariably present standard boilerplate reports citing diverse reasons for their unavailability. Emphasizing that surveillance cameras serve as vital, objective records of internal police station proceedings, the judges stated that withholding such material during inquiries directly undermines judicial scrutiny and institutional accountability. The petitioner had asserted that her father was kept in unauthorized custody for two full days before his formal arrest was recorded on September 7 in connection with a honeytrap complaint. While the High Court had directed the authorities on October 13 to furnish the camera recordings for that specific timeframe, the police reported back that no footage existed, attributing the system outage to a thunderstorm that allegedly disabled equipment on September 5. Rejecting this explanation outright, the bench noted that such excuses cannot be tolerated, observing that the failure to produce footage provides strong grounds to presume the allegations of unlawful custody to be true. The judges concluded that the records were deliberately withheld to suppress the truth.
Adverse Entry Ordered in Police Officer Service Record
Taking severe exception to the conduct of the then station house officer of Nangal police station in Bijnor district, Anu Kumari, the High Court held that she had intentionally failed to supply the mandatory footage. The division bench directed that the court’s grave displeasure regarding her conduct be formally entered into her service record. Furthermore, the bench directed the state administration to assess whether it remains appropriate to retain her in her present assignment, underscoring that accountability cannot remain confined to routine internal inquiries when judicial mandates are disregarded.
Petition Allowed with Twenty Thousand Rupees Compensation
Allowing the habeas corpus plea argued by advocate P.K. Singh on behalf of the petitioners, the High Court ordered the immediate release of the detainee. To provide redress for the unauthorized custody, the bench directed the state government to pay compensation of twenty thousand rupees to the petitioner family. The ruling firmly establishes that willful non-compliance with judicial inquiries into illegal confinement carries immediate legal and administrative consequences.
