Delhi High Court orders two police officers to pay ₹50k compensation for illegally detaining man for half an hour

The Delhi High Court on Thursday awarded ₹50,000 compensation to a man who was illegally detailed by the Delhi Police for half an hour [Pankaj Kumar Sharma v Govt of NCT of Delhi & Ors]. .Notably, Justice Subramonium Prasad said that the compensation amount should be recovered from the salaries of sub-inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan, the two police officers who put the petitioner in the lock-up. The Court observed that police officers cannot be law unto themselves and a meaningful message must be sent out to the authorities. This Court is troubled at the way the citizens are being treated by the Police authorities who behave as if they are above the law, the Court said."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," Justice Prasad underscored. .The Court was dealing with a plea filed by a man named Pankaj Kumar Sharma who was illegally detained at Delhi's Badarpur Police Station on September 2, 2022. As per the facts of the case, a woman was stabbed by a vegetable seller on September 22 at around 9 pm. She came to the petitioner's shop and said that she had been injured. The petitioner called the police. However, when the police came to the spot, they picked up the petitioner and placed him in the lock-up with even registering a first information report (FIR). The Court was told that an inquiry was held against the officers and that a punishment of censure has been imposed on them..Justice Prasad considered the case and observed that even though it was for a short period of time, petitioner was deprived of his personal liberty, a right protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India."This Court is deeply troubled by the fact that the petitioner was not even arrested. He was simply picked up from the spot, brought to the police station and placed inside the lock-up for no rhyme or reason. The highhanded way in which the Police authorities have acted throwing to winds the constitutional and fundamental rights of a citizen, is appalling," the Court said. The Court was also of the view that in this case, a punishment of censure is not enough because it is not likely to have any effect on the career of the police officers and is therefore is not a sufficient deterrent."The censure should be of such nature that other officers too must not emulate such actions in future... In the facts of this case, even though the illegal detention of the Petitioner was only for about half an hour, this Court is inclined to grant compensation of ₹50,000 to the petitioner, which shall be recovered from the salaries of respondents No.4 and 5 [Sub-Inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan]," the Court ordered. .Advocate Dhruv Gupta appeared for the Pankaj Kumar Sharma. Additional Standing Counsel Hetu Arora Sethi and Advocate Arjun Basra appeared for the State. .[Read Judgment]