On Thursday, the Delhi High Court granted a compensation of ₹50,000 to an individual who had been unlawfully detained by the Delhi Police for a period of thirty minutes.

Justice Subramonium Prasad emphasized that the awarded compensation of ₹50,000 should be deducted from the salaries of sub-inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan, the two police officers responsible for placing the petitioner in custody.

The court noted that the police officers must not act outside the bounds of the law, emphasizing the need to convey a significant message to the authorities. Court also expressed concern about the treatment of citizens by the police authorities who sometimes appear to act as if they are exempt from the law.

Justice Prasad highlighted that, “the time spent in the lock-up by the petitioner, even for a short while, cannot absolve the police officers who have deprived the petitioners of his liberty without following the due procedure established by law... This Court is of the opinion that a meaningful message must be sent to the authorities that police officers cannot be law unto themselves.”

The court was addressing a request made by an individual named Pankaj Kumar Sharma who was unlawfully held at the Badarpur Police Station on September 2, 2022.

According to the case details, on September 22 around 9 pm, a woman was stabbed by a vegetable vendor. She then went to the petitioner's shop and informed them about her injury. Subsequently, the petitioner contacted the police.

Nevertheless, upon the arrival of the police at the scene, they detained the petitioner and placed him in the lock-up without even registering a First Information Report (FIR).

The court was informed that an inquiry was conducted against the officers involved, and as a result, they received a punishment in the form of censure.

Justice Prasad reviewed the case and noted that despite the brief duration, the petitioner  had been deprived of his personal liberty, a fundamental right safeguarded under Article 21 of the Constitution. 

The Court expressed serious concern over the fact that the petitioner had not been formally arrested. Instead, he was arbitrarily taken from the scene, brought to the police station, and placed in a lock-up without any apparent justification. The Court found the actions of the police authorities to be high-handed and in disregard of a citizen's constitutional and fundamental rights, which it deemed as deeply troubling and appalling.

The Court held the opinion that in this particular case, censuring the police officers was insufficient as a punishment because it was unlikely to have any meaningful impact on their careers and therefore would not serve as an adequate deterrent.

The Court determined that the censure imposed should be of a nature that discourages other officers from replicating such actions in the future. Given the circumstances of this case, where the petitioner's illegal detention lasted for approximately half an hour, the Court decided to award the petitioner compensation of ₹50,000. This amount would be recovered from the salaries of respondents No. 4 and 5, namely, Sub-Inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan, as per the Court's order.