Prayagraj, Oct 16 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has pulled up Uttar Pradesh Police over the unlawful detention of a man from Noida before his formal arrest observing that the police appeared to be acting as a “law unto themselves” and directed his immediate release.
A bench of justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev has described Noida ACP Kamlesh Kant and investigating officer Anuj Kumar as highly ignorant of BNSS procedures and criticized their cavalier approach to the statutory requirements.
The bench requested the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) to prepare better police training modules to sensitise officers to civil liberties and the procedures that must be followed before arrest or detention.
The court in the judgement passed on October 7 allowed a habeas corpus petition filed by the man while holding his detention in police custody to be ‘unlawful’ and 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,” the court observed.
“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. 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 similarly situated,” the court added.
According to facts of the case, an incident of violence took place between two groups on August 23, 2026. The police records show that a resident of Noida Deepak, who is the petitioner, and four others were taken into custody at 7:34 p.m. that day.
On the same day, an FIR under relevant sections was registered at 9:39 p.m. based on a written report. In this FIR, the petitioner was formally arrested on August 24 at 2:57 pm. However, the undisputed sequence was that the petitioner was already in police custody before the FIR was registered and was subsequently shown as formally arrested in that FIR.
In view of these circumstances, the bench said there appeared to be a strong prima facie case that the relevant document was filled up at a later stage and that the signature of the petitioner was obtained on a blank paper and countersigned by the IO Anuj Kumar himself, leaving the portion above blank for the grounds of arrest to be filled in later.
Though the state argued that the situation was tense, with a crowd present, and therefore the police had acted in good faith to prevent escalation, the court remarked that it did not absolve the police of their obligation.
“It is for the police to understand that all the provisions in the Cr.P.C./BNSS providing protection to a person sought to be detained arise from the constitutional protection guaranteed under Article 22(1),” the court said.
The court also directed that its observations expressing displeasure against ACP Kant and IO Kumar be recorded in their respective service books. PTI COR RAJ ZMN
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