Gujarat HC orders DCP transfer for impartial probe into assault
The Gujarat High Court on Friday observed that the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) who allegedly slapped and beat handcuffed accused persons in public in Surat must be immediately transferred to ensure an impartial probe into the incident. A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray took up a suo motu PIL over the July 14 incident, after taking cognisance of a written complaint filed by a lawyer.
The case stems from an incident in which a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) and a group of policemen were allegedly seen in video footage parading the handcuffed accused persons publicly and subjecting them to repeated physical assault.
The Government pleader informed the bench that the issue had come to the attention of the Director General of Police, who ordered an inquiry under the assistant commissioner of police (crime), and statements of all people identified in the videos have been recorded.
Chief Justice Agarwal, in her oral remarks, observed that the preliminary inquiry into the incident cannot be impartial if the police officer in question is in his post.
“Apart from the people present on the spot, there must be some police personnel who were witnesses. They will not speak. He is such a senior officer, and he did something unacceptable. You continue with your preliminary inquiry, but you will have to transfer him. He should be posted somewhere else,” the court noted.
The incident took place in a public place, and everybody saw it, and videos were also circulated, she said.
The matter will be heard next on August 21.
The amicus curiae submitted that the state home department had issued a circular dated May 7 following two High Court orders on similar incidents.
According to the ciruclar, actions such as forcing the accused to perform sit-ups or crawl on their knees in public, kicking or beating them with a stick, compelling them to apologise publicly while holding their ears and folding their hands, forcing them into the ‘murga’ (rooster) position, or using ropes to tie them up while they are handcuffed during the investigation process violate the accused’s dignity and human rights.
“Any officer or employee found engaging in such conduct will face strict disciplinary action, and the senior officers of the respective area will be held accountable,” the circular stated.
Lawyer Utkarsh Dave had written to Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal calling the July 14 incident, accompanied by a group of police personnel with handcuffed accused persons being paraded publicly and assaulted with a baton, “disturbing and shocking”.
Dave informed the court that as per videos and media reports, the accused persons were dragged by their hair, slapped and beaten repeatedly while being compelled to walk on the road with handcuffs, allegedly in the presence and under supervision of senior police officers including the DCP.
The incident is “wholly inconsistent with the constitutional values that govern the exercise of police powers in a democratic society,” it said.
The representation alleged that the accused were “dragged by their hair, slapped and beaten in full public view under the supervision of senior police officers”.
He called it a blatant violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, and drew on the Supreme Court’s ruling in D K Basu vs State of West Bengal and the Gujarat High Court’s observations in the 2022 flogging case in Gujarat’s Kheda, where a similar public assault on accused persons drew judicial ire.
