The Allahabad High Court has dismissed applications by police personnel, including a woman constable, who sought discharge in a criminal case arising from alleged custodial beatings and molestation in Banda district. The bench, headed by Justice Madan Pal Singh, ruled that the conduct alleged against the accused cannot be treated as part of police duty and amounts to a crime.
Court rejects claim of official duty; Section 197 protection denied
The accused had applied for protection on the ground that the acts complained of were committed in the course of official duties and therefore attracted the shield of Section 197 of the CrPC. In its order dated September 9, the high court held that the trial court had not erred in refusing to discharge the accused and dismissed both applications as devoid of merit.
"It can only be described as a heinous crime nor can it be argued that the police merely overstepped their limits slightly in the course of an investigation"
The bench noted that the allegations, if taken at face value, described repeated beatings of victims in police custody after their hands and feet had been tied and they were laid face down. Such acts, the court said, could not be characterised as legitimate law-enforcement action.
Background: FIR and sequence of events
The matter stems from an FIR registered at Baberu police station in Banda district in 2022. According to the FIR and subsequent investigation, four constables had been sent to Village Padari to serve notices. The police report alleges that the visiting constables were abused and assaulted by villagers and their family members, following which reinforcement was sent.
During the ensuing police action, four women were arrested on the night of May 13, 2022, and four men, including an informant, were taken into custody the following day. The complainant alleged that, during these operations, police personnel engaged in illegal assault, molestation, custodial violence, looting and false implication. An FIR was lodged naming nine identified and several unknown police personnel, including the applicants whose discharge pleas were later rejected by the trial court on September 27, 2024.
| Key date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2022 | FIR registered at Baberu police station |
| 13 May 2022 | Four women arrested at night; four men arrested next day |
| 27 Sep 2024 | Trial court rejected discharge applications |
| 9 Sep (order) | Allahabad HC dismissed discharge applications |
Legal implications and accountability
The high court’s decision underscores a narrower interpretation of official immunity under Section 197 CrPC. By holding that alleged custodial beatings and molestation cannot be subsumed under duties performed in the course of official functions, the bench emphasised that law-enforcement personnel facing allegations of serious criminality are not automatically entitled to protection from prosecution.
The ruling also signals the judiciary’s insistence on investigating complaints of custodial torture and sexual misconduct without treating such acts as incidental to police duties. The court observed that the facts, as alleged in the FIR and investigation, depict conduct that crosses the threshold of acceptable police action.
- Nine police personnel were named in the FIR, along with several unknown accused.
- The accused had sought discharge and protection under Section 197 CrPC, which the high court refused.
- The matter will continue in the trial court, where the allegations will be examined in detail.
The order will be watched closely by civil liberties groups and police oversight bodies, as it bears on the parameters of police accountability and the processes for redressal when allegations of custodial violence and sexual assault by law-enforcement officers are made.
Proceedings will now continue in the trial court in Banda district, where the evidence and witness testimony will determine the next stage of the criminal process.
