New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) A Delhi court has directed the police commissioner to file an inquiry report over an accused's alleged illegal detention and said detaining someone without an FIR violates the fundamental
right to life and personal liberty.
Special judge Manu Goel Kharb was hearing the bail plea of the accused Krishna, who was arrested by the officials of the Uttam Nagar police station.
In an order on July 29, the court said an FIR was registered on July 8 regarding the alleged incident on July 6.
The accused and three others, armed with pistol and knife, allegedly broke into a home and looted Rs 80,000 and 10 gram gold.
The court said according to the reply filed by the police officials, one accused, namely, Krishna was allowed to leave after an preliminary inquiry on July 8, but according to the CCTV footage, the accused was taken away from his house in the intervening night of July 7-8, at around 12.50 am.
"Specific query was put to the Investigating Officer (IO) and anti-terrorist officer (ATO or inspector law and order) by the court as to what was the urgency to take the applicant (Krishna) from his house in the middle of the night, if the purpose was only to conduct a preliminary inquiry to which they have failed to give any answer."
The court said both police officials were silent when ordered to produce the relevant footage to show that Krishna was released from the police station after preliminary inquiry.
It said their silence confirmed the averments of the accused’s counsel that his client was taken from his house on July 7-8, and produced before a magistrate after three days on July 10.
"Evidently, Krishna was illegally detained by the police officials of Uttam Nagar police station even prior to the registration of FIR, which amounts to unjustifiable imprisonment and unlawful deprivation of liberty of the applicant," the court said.
It said that detaining someone without formally registering the FIR was "without any legal justification and violative of Constitutional protection of right to life and personal liberty under Article 21."
The station house officer (SHO) was observed to have failed to conduct an inquiry and his reply did not mention the names of the four to five police officials, including a woman official, who allegedly took away the applicant from his house in the middle of the night on the the pretext of conducting a preliminary inquiry.
The court directed its order copy to be shared with the police commissioner to "conduct an inquiry at his end and file a report" by August 5 through an officer not below the rank of joint commissioner of police.
The court also granted bail to the accused on a bail bond and surety bond of Rs 20,000 each. PTI MNR MNR AMK
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