Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Police over the unlawful detention of a man before his formal arrest, observing that the police appear to be acting as a “law unto themselves”.
It is for the police to understand that all the provisions of the CrPC/BNSS providing protection to a person sought to be detained arise from the constitutional protection guaranteed under Article 22(1),” the court said.
a division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev allowed a habeas corpus petition filed by a man while holding his detention in police custody to be “unlawful” While making this observation. The court expressed concern that the police showed “insufficient regard for civil liberties”. The court asked the Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP) to prepare better police training modules to sensitise officers on civil liberties and the procedures that should be followed before arrest or detention. The court directed his immediate release, if he was not required in any other case. “This case reflects the sordid state of affairs prevailing in the Uttar Pradesh Police. Repeatedly, cases have come before this court in which the strict requirements of law, both procedural and substantive, have not been adhered to in letter and spirit,” the court observed. “Documents appear to have been prepared and executed as a mere formality, replete with errors that raise serious doubts about the legality of the detention and arrest of the petitioner and others. It appears that the police are a law unto themselves,” the court added. Though the state argued that the situation was tense and the police had acted in good faith to prevent escalation, the court remarked that it did not absolve the police of their obligation. “The situation does not absolve the police of errors committed by them in failing to proceed strictly in accordance with law.