Arrest of President's medal awardee cop illegal, says HC; orders Maharashtra government to pay him Rs 2 lakh

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has held as illegal the arrest of a policeman, a recipient of the President's medal, for a faulty probe in a murder case and directed the Maharashtra government to pay him Rs 2 lakh as compensation.

The police officer, Sambhaji Patil, petitioned the high court, seeking an inquiry against the additional superintendent of police, Satara, who had arrested him. He also sought compensation of Rs 10 lakh.

Patil was arrested in March 2013 on the charges of destruction of evidence and intentional preparation of a faulty report in a murder case he had probed in 2009. He was granted bail a day after his arrest.

A division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil on Monday said the power of arrest has not been cautiously exercised and that the police officer was arrested in an illegal manner.

It further noted that this was not an exceptional case where the petitioner's arrest was imperative, and the offences were bailable.

"A case has been made out by the petitioner for seeking compensation in public law on account of his illegal arrest that has resulted in violation of his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the bench said.

It pointed out that the petitioner policeman received the President's Police Medal in January 2004 for his meritorious service and the Director General of Police insignia the same year for rendering excellent service.

The court said the petitioner was entitled to receive Rs 2 lakh compensation from the state government.

It directed the government to pay the sum within eight weeks and said it would be open for the government to recover the money from the officer found guilty of dereliction of duty.

Patil served as the officer in charge of Karad city police station in Satara district in 2009 when he probed a murder case.

After his transfer, the case was probed by another officer. In 2012, the petitioner was called upon by the additional superintendent of police, Satara, to explain the manner of investigation undertaken by him in the case.

In March 2013, the petitioner appeared before the additional superintendent of police and was informed that he was being arrested on the charges of destruction of evidence and intentional preparation of a false report.

He was released on bail the next day when he was produced for remand before a magistrate's court.

The petitioner claimed he was illegally detained for a day and was not informed of the grounds of his arrest. He also claimed he was implicated in the case.

The bench, in its order, noted that as per provisions of law, once the petitioner was arrested, he ought to have been produced before the superintendent of police, who was the superior officer.