The Bombay High Court has discharged three lawyers in a case registered against them for allegedly demanding identification from CBI officers during a raid.
Justice Milind Jadhav, presiding as a single-judge bench, allowed the appeal challenging a Sessions Court order that had refused to discharge the accused lawyers—Advocates Gobindram Talreja, Haresh Motwani, and intern Prateek Sanghvi.
The case stemmed from a 2007 incident during a CBI raid at the lawyers' office concerning one of their clients. Talreja was in court at the time of the raid and assured Motwani that the investigation would proceed smoothly. However, later in the day, Motwani informed Talreja about alleged mistreatment by the officers. Talreja subsequently arrived at the office and asked the officers to show their ID cards.
A quarrel ensued, leading to the arrest of all three lawyers by the CBI. They were released the following evening.
In its ruling, the High Court emphasized that requesting identification from CBI officers did not constitute an obstruction of their duties. Justice Jadhav observed:
“Asking the CBI officers to show their identity cards is not restraining them from carrying out their duty. This is the only thing that has transpired in the present case leading to the indictment of the applicant.”
The court also acknowledged the impact of the incident on the young intern, Prateek Sanghvi, noting that it subjected him to humiliation and disgrace early in his legal career.
“This Court can only imagine what must have gone through the mind of a young college going law student i.e. Applicant No. 3 who was interning with Applicant No. 1's firm as a Law Intern at the then time to have suffered the ignominy, disgrace and infamy when at the threshold of stepping into this noble profession he was arrested," the order states.
While directing the officers to pay ₹15,000 each, the bench noted that the applicants had endured suffering for 17 long years.
“The costs are awarded in order to send a clear message to the Law Enforcement Agencies to ensure that legal provisions are not misused by them so as to cause irreparable hardship and sufferance to the common man and citizens of this country and that Rule of law prevails,” the order reads
Case title: Gobindram Daryanumal Talreja vs State of Maharashtra
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