Bombay HC calls handcuffing of duo by police 'humiliation', orders Maharashtra govt to pay compensation

The Bombay High Court has ordered the Maharashtra government to pay compensation of Rs 50000 each to a lawyer and an exserviceman who were handcuffed by police holding that they were subjected to ldquohumiliationrdquoCourt stresses upholding police mottoIn its order passed on Tuesday a copy of which was made available on Thursday the courtrsquos Nagpur bench said the motto of the Maharashtra Police ldquoSadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanayardquo to protect the good and punish the evil must be upheld the PTI reportedDuo lsquohumiliatedrsquo during transitThe court observed that the duo was ldquohumiliatedrdquo when they were handcuffed and taken on a state transport bus from a police station in Amravati to the tehsildarrsquos office where they were later granted bailldquoThe motto of Maharashtra State Police is lsquoSadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanayarsquo which needs to be respectedrdquo the court said directing the state government to pay Rs 50000 each to lawyer Yogeshwar Kawade and exserviceman Avinash Date within eight weeks the news agency reportedDuty of law enforcers highlightedA bench of Justices Urmila JoshiPhalke and Nivedita Mehta said that those who administer the law must remember their duty not only to the accused and the victim but also to the state and society at largeldquoSuch incidents involving police tend to erode public confidence in the criminal justice system more than those involving private individualsrdquo the court notedPolice action termed lsquounwarranted humiliationrsquoThe bench held that the assistant police inspector and two constables who handcuffed the petitioners subjected them to ldquounwarranted humiliation and indignity which cannot be inflicted on any citizen of Indiardquo making them entitled to compensationBackground of the caseAccording to the petition Kawade and Date had gone to Talegaon police station in Amravati district in August 2010 to file a complaint against a man who allegedly damaged Datersquos carThe man however lodged a crosscomplaint accusing the duo of assault and issuing threatsAllegations of illegal detention and mistreatmentThe petitioners claimed that the police illegally detained them after midnight based on the complaint and allegedly stripped them and made them sit in their undergarments The following day they were handcuffed and taken to the tehsildarrsquos office on a state transport busThe tehsildar later ordered the police to remove the handcuffs and granted them bailReputation damage and legal violationAccording to PTI the petition further stated that the act of handcuffing had damaged their reputation and was unlawful as they were neither habitual offenders nor hardened criminalsPolice inquiry conductedThe Superintendent of Police Amravati informed the court that an inquiry had been conducted against the policemen involved and necessary action had been takenCourt emphasises need for compensationHowever the High Court held that in such cases victims must also be compensated monetarilyldquoIn cases of infringement of fundamental rights the court cannot stop at merely declaring that action has been taken It must go further and grant compensatory relief for the wrong donerdquo the bench saidldquoTo repair the wrong and provide judicial redress for legal injury is a compulsion of judicial consciencerdquo it addedWith PTI inputs