New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Thursday pulled up the Delhi Police over alleged torture and illegal detention of certain activists last month, asserting that legal procedure must be followed even in cases involving grave allegations.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja asked the investigating agency to either take consequent action or it would refer the matter to the CBI.
“When someone makes an allegation against someone, you will just pick her up? We are not going to allow this. If you had some material to suspect them, you have a procedure prescribed in law … If you did not, we will ask the commissioner to order an inquiry. We are not concerned with how grave an allegation is, and we are concerned with procedure. The Constitution says procedure prescribed by law,” the court said during the hearing.
“Tell us that action has been taken, or else we will… We are not going to express any opinion but we will say that the allegations are very serious and this has to be referred to the CBI,” the court remarked.
The court observed that there were serious allegations of torture, which could not be a means of interrogation.
“You may be investigating a terrorist angle but if you pick up someone, you have to follow the procedure,” it said.
The Delhi Police, which denied all allegations, tendered a report to the court in a sealed cover.
The court, however, opined that it was not satisfied with the report and directed that the entire case file be placed before it on May 19.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions concerning the alleged illegal detention of several activists by the police after they were “picked up” from outside Dayal Singh College and Vijay Nagar in March.
A senior counsel representing one of the petitioners submitted that the manner in which the police picked up the petitioners and detained them should be “frowned upon”.
In their response to the writ petition filed by the younger sister of Lakshita Rajoura, who alleged that she and other students were abducted and taken to an unmarked building in New Friends Colony, the police earlier said allegations of custodial torture and illegal detention were concocted and motivated to derail an ongoing investigation into their Maoist-linked activities.
In a counter-affidavit filed before the high court, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police asserted that the protesters were only called for “lawful questioning” in connection with an FIR registered in July 2025.
The police f claimed that the activists are associated with outfits like Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), which they alleged are platforms for “anti-national” and “Naxalite” content.
“No illegal detention, abduction, coercion, or torture, as alleged, has ever taken place. The allegations are highly exaggerated, contradictory, and devoid of any material proof, and appear to be an afterthought to exert pressure upon the investigating agency,” the police’s reply read.
The police maintained that the interrogation was conducted in a professional manner in the presence of female staff.
“No custodial torture or threats, as alleged, were ever inflicted upon any male person. The interrogation was conducted in a lawful and professional manner in the presence of female staff,” the affidavit read.
According to the police, the investigation pertains to a case involving the disappearance of a woman who had been brainwashed and indoctrinated by individuals associated with Maoist ideologies.
Responding to the petitioner’s demand for the preservation of CCTV footage, the police said that the footage from the Special Cell office in New Friends Colony has been preserved but the footage from specific locations in Vijay Nagar and Maurice Nagar was not available.
The police also argued that the activists failed to produce any medical documents or medico-legal cases (MLC) to substantiate their claims of physical assault and termed the allegations an “afterthought”.
According to the petition, 10 people, including six students from different colleges of the national capital, two labour rights activists and anti-displacement activists each were illegally detained by the Delhi Police between March 12 and 14.
Some of these students were previously booked in a case related to raising pro-Maoist slogans at the India Gate during their agitation against the soaring air pollution last year. PTI ADS VN VN
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