The Allahabad High Court has observed that every arrest and detention does not lead to custodial torture.
With the above observation, the court recently dismissed a writ petition filed by Shah Faisal of Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh, who had sought compensation from the state government for alleged inhuman treatment meted out to him by police personnel.
The court noted that an FIR was lodged against the petitioner, accusing him of beating up one Rishikesh Bharti with a rod. He was called to a police station for interrogation. Subsequently, on a complaint from the petitioner, the senior superintendent of police (SSP) had initiated an inquiry against police personnel but nothing was found, the court observed.
In this backdrop, a division bench of Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar said, "There is no violation of any human rights of the petitioner. It cannot be said that the law-enforcement agencies had gone overboard in repressing the crime in the society." In his plea, the petitioner had alleged that two police personnel posted at the Partawal police outpost in Maharajganj took him to the outpost, where a sub-inspector and a constable demanded Rs 50,000 from him, threatening that otherwise he will be falsely implicated in a criminal case. When he said he was unable to pay the amount, he was allegedly beaten up in the police lock-up.
The petitioner had requested the court to direct the Maharajganj superintendent of police to take legal action against the guilty police personnel and initiate disciplinary proceedings against them.
Rejecting the plea, the court observed, "It is well-settled law that in case of custodial torture, which would amount to a violation of the rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, proceedings under Articles 32 or 226 of the Constitution can be initiated only when there is substantial evidence of custodial torture."
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