Gujarat High Court finds 4 policemen guilty of contempt of court for publicly flogging Muslim men; orders 14-day jail term

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday found four policemen guilty of contempt of court for publicly flogging five Muslim men in October last year. sentenced four policemen, who had mercilessly assaultedOutput: Five Muslim men were attacked in October last year in full public view., to 14 days simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 [Jahirmiya Rehamumiya Malek vs State of Gujarat]..A division bench of Justices AS Supehia and Gita Gopi said the incident in question was an act against humanity and violative of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in DK Basu case for arrest of persons by police."They have engaged in committing inhuman act with an horrific intent to humiliate the victims. They not only violated the DK Basu guidelines but also the personal liberty of the victims," the Court observed.The Court, therefore, sentenced the accused to 14 days simple imprisonment along with fine of ₹2,000. "It was an act against humanity, which was viewed by the public at large and was viral on social media. It was not confined to the Undhela village alone. Thus, we deem it proper to sentence the four policemen to 14 days simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000," the bench said while rejecting the prayer of the policemen who offered to compensate the victims. The bench led by Justice AS Supehia, however, stayed its order for a period of three months..The bench refused to accept the apology tendered by the police officers stating that despite the same being a bona fide one, their act had a debilitating effect on the rule of law. "In the instant case, it is not the majesty of the court which is disregarded but also the self-respect of the victims is blown to the smithereens," the bench said. The Court further said that accepting the apologies would lead to travesty of justice. "The inhuman acts of the policemen are beyond the contours of the forgiveness. The feeling of getting humiliated to the extent that it obliterates the sense of being human is a standalone feeling. The same cannot be legally compensable," the bench underscored..Further, the bench held that if the apology is accepted, it will send a wrong message to the society and will encourage such acts and shake the confidence of the people in judiciary. .The five victims were beaten up by policemen from the Matar Police Station in Kheda district for allegedly hurling stones at a crowd during a Navratri event in Undhela village. Videos of the flogging incident also surfaced on social media.The family members of the victims, through Senior Advocate IH Syed, petitioned the High Court seeking contempt of court action against the policemen for violating the Supreme Court's guidelines issued in the case of DK Basu v. State of West Bengal, which called for compliance with proper procedure before arresting any individual.The High Court sought a response from the State in the matter in October last year.Responding to the plea, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Gadhiya stated that the Muslim men, along with 159 members of their community, had conspired to disrupt a Garba event to create fear among the Hindu community. The officer had further said that in order to maintain peace in the area, the petitioners were beaten up by the cops.Accordingly, to ascertain the role of each of the 14 policemen involved in the incident, the High Court ordered the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Nadia district to scrutinise the videos and the images which went viral on social media.A report later submitted by CJM Chitra Ratnoo before the High Court stated that the video clips and photographs of the incident were not clear. Therefore, it was difficult to identify all 14 policemen seen in the clips. Only four cops could be identified, the report said.The High Court then proceeded to frame contempt of court charges against the four cops who were identified.