MUMBAI: The police action of arresting a music teacher and illegally detaining him for a bailable offence smacks of police high-handedness and insensitivity, the Bombay HC said on Friday while directing the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 2 lakh in compensation to the man.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse passed the order on a petition filed by Neelam Sampat alleging that the police had illegally detained her husband Nitin Sampat and that he was arrested although the charges against him were bailable.
“This is a case, where there is a gross violation of Nitin’s right guaranteed to him under Article 21; his right to be released on bail in bailable offences; and a clear violation of Supreme Court judgments that say that arrest in cases should be made only when it is absolutely warranted,” the bench said.
“The facts as narrated in the case smack of police high-handedness. It smacks of their insensitivity. It reveals their lack of knowledge of legal provisions. This action of the police has resulted in unjustified trauma — physical, emotional and mental to the petitioner’s husband — Nitin,” the court said in its order.
The court further said though the plea has not sought compensation, it was of the opinion that compensation ought to be awarded not only for violation of law but also for violation of the man’s fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution (Right to live with dignity).
The bench in its order said the rights of individuals must be recognised by the instrumentalities of the State and that any abuse or misuse of power should attract consequences.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse passed the order on a petition filed by Neelam Sampat alleging that the police had illegally detained her husband Nitin Sampat and that he was arrested although the charges against him were bailable.
“This is a case, where there is a gross violation of Nitin’s right guaranteed to him under Article 21; his right to be released on bail in bailable offences; and a clear violation of Supreme Court judgments that say that arrest in cases should be made only when it is absolutely warranted,” the bench said.
“The facts as narrated in the case smack of police high-handedness. It smacks of their insensitivity. It reveals their lack of knowledge of legal provisions. This action of the police has resulted in unjustified trauma — physical, emotional and mental to the petitioner’s husband — Nitin,” the court said in its order.
The court further said though the plea has not sought compensation, it was of the opinion that compensation ought to be awarded not only for violation of law but also for violation of the man’s fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution (Right to live with dignity).
The bench in its order said the rights of individuals must be recognised by the instrumentalities of the State and that any abuse or misuse of power should attract consequences.