Allahabad HC asks State Government to compensate man kept in illegal custody
The Allahabad High Court has taken serious note of the illegal eight-day police custody of a man and directed the state government to give a compensation of Rs two lakh to him within six weeks. The court also ordered that the amount shall be recovered by the state government from the assistant commissioner of police, Bara, Prayagraj, after conducting disciplinary inquiry against him within three months.
Hearing a habeas corpus writ petition filed on behalf of Mansoor Ahmed, who hails from Prayagraj, a division bench comprising Justices Siddharth and Vinai Kumar Dwivedi directed the commissioner of police (CP), commissionerate Prayagraj to file the compliance report of the order on or before September 14.
Directing to list the case on September 14, the court warned that in case of failure, the CP shall remain present before this court on the next date.
“This is a shocking state of affairs in the Commissionerate, Prayagraj. The Commissioner of Police has been given the powers of a magistrate, which are being misused to the hilt. This court has considered a similar situation in a case pertaining to the Commissionerate, Ghazia bad, (Chander Pal Singh and another Vs. State of UP) where the misuse of powers by the Commissioner of Police was also brought to the notice of the Court,” the court said.
According to the petition, Krishan Mohan Singh, posted as station house officer (SHO), sub-inspector Umesh Singh, constables Ankit Singh and Tribhuwan Pandey allegedly forcibly entered the house of the Mansoor Ahmad and took him to the police station.
