In a striking instance of professional integrity taking precedence over personal ties, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer found himself on the opposite side of the courtroom—facing his own daughter
in a legal battle in the Allahabad High Court.
The case pertains to the retired top cop’s suspension order for a constable, which was challenged by his advocate daughter, who appeared as counsel for the suspended constable, and finally got the order overturned, PTI reported.
What’s The Case?
Rakesh Singh, a 2003-batch IPS officer and former Inspector General (IG) of Bareilly Range, had ordered the dismissal of constable Taufiq Ahmad after a girl accused him of molestation in Jaunray 2023. A POCSO case was filed against Ahmad. While the lower court later acquitted him, the police department dismissed him from service.
The then IG Rakesh Singh had taken a “strict but duty-bound” decision to remove Ahmad from service, citing the severity of the charges. He had also rejected Ahmad’s appeal against the dismissal
Challenging this, Ahmad approached the Allahabad High Court, appointing advocate Anura Singh, Rakesh Singh’s daughter, as his lawyer, the report added.
In the court, she argued in the suspended constable’s favour and said that the departmental inquiry violated the Uttar Pradesh Police Subordinate Ranks (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1991. She further said that the inquiry and dismissal order were flawed and did not comply with legal requirements.
Meanwhile, her father — the officer who had signed the dismissal order — was summoned to defend the department’s action.
On one side stood the seasoned former IG, who defended the police department’s decision. On the other hand, his determined daughter highlighted procedural flaws and legal violations in the inquiry process.
The High Court eventually quashed the departmental proceedings and ordered Bareilly Police to reinstate Ahmad.
“This writ petition thus, succeeds and is allowed. The inquiry report dated 14.04.2023 and order of the disciplinary authority dated 11.12.2023 are hereby quashed,” the judgment dated July 31, 2025, said, as reported by the news agency.
“This was simply about doing our respective jobs,” Anura said, adding that the authority of the court stands above all personal equations.
Rakesh Singh said he was proud his daughter upheld her professional role, while Ahmad expressed gratitude, saying he was unaware of the personal connection during the case.
