Bombay High Court
Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Thursday declared the 2017 arrest of Malabar Hill businessman Bipin Agrwal illegal, holding that a police sub-inspector acted in collusion with a developer to falsely implicate him in an extortion case . Directing the state govt to pay Agrwal Rs 5 lakh as compensation within two weeks, HC also ordered strict action — even suspension, if warranted — against officers involved, including inspector Mahesh Lamkhade of Azad Maidan police station. HC also noted that the offence under Indian Penal Code Section 384 for extortion carried a maximum punishment of three years, yet police failed to demonstrate why his arrest was necessary.
Police have attempted to characterise the petitioner as a gangster, history-sheeter or an extortionist without any iota of evidence, said a bench of Justices Kamal Khata and A S Gadkari, while hearing Agarwal’s writ petition. It also directed HC registry to place the judgment before its administrative committee for appropriate action against the 64th metropolitan magistrate who authorised and continued Agrwal’s custody without recording reasons. HC observed that police failed to establish why the cash was paid or investigate whether it represented an advance towards a contractual transaction. The court found serious discrepancies in police records, including overwriting in the arrest form, contradictory station diary entries, missing details about the grounds of arrest and alleged suppression of a forensic report. The bench found that the notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure was served after the arrest, without giving Agrwal a genuine opportunity to comply. The court held that the magistrate had failed to independently apply judicial mind while authorising continued remand. It acknowledged that the unlawful arrest caused substantial financial loss and irreparable damage to Agrwal’s reputation. The court also disposed of a connected criminal application filed by Seth and Sonal Developers, as it no longer survived following the disposal of the petition.