The Allahabad High Court has refused to grant relief to police personnel accused of repeatedly assaulting people in custody and molesting women, holding that such acts cannot be regarded as part of official duties and amount to a “heinous crime”.

The court also ruled that the accused personnel could not seek protection under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires prior sanction before prosecuting public servants for acts committed in the discharge of their official functions.

Court Rejects Claim Of Official Duty

A bench of Justice Madan Pal Singh passed the order on September 9 while dismissing two applications filed by police personnel, including women personnel, who had challenged a trial court order rejecting their pleas for discharge from the case.

The applicants had argued that the alleged acts were committed while they were performing their official duties and that they were therefore entitled to protection under Section 197 of the CrPC.

The High Court rejected the argument, observing that the allegations went far beyond any action that could be linked to the lawful discharge of police duties.

According to the court, the victims were allegedly tied with ropes around their hands and feet, made to lie face down and subjected to repeated beatings while in police custody.

Such conduct, the court said, could not be considered an excess committed during an investigation or any other official activity.

The alleged acts could only be described as a “heinous crime” and not as part of police duty, the court observed.

Trial Court Order Upheld

The applications before the High Court challenged a September 27, 2024 order of a trial court that had rejected the police personnel’s requests for discharge.

The case arose from Baberu police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district.

After examining the material, the High Court held that the trial court had “not committed any error” in refusing to discharge the accused police personnel.

The court subsequently dismissed both applications as “devoid of merits”.

Case Stems From 2022 Incident In Banda

The case has its origins in an FIR registered in 2022 under Sections 147 for rioting, 323 for voluntarily causing hurt, 504 for intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and 506 for criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code.

During the investigation, four constables were sent to Padari village to serve notices. According to the case details, the accused and their family members allegedly abused and assaulted the constables.

A police team was subsequently sent to the village following the alleged assault on the constables.

Four women were arrested on the night of May 13, 2022, while four men, including the informant in the case, were arrested the following day.

Complaint Alleges Assault And Molestation

The complainant subsequently alleged that the police action involved illegal assault, molestation, custodial violence, looting and false implication.

An FIR was later registered against nine named police personnel and several unidentified officers, including the applicants before the High Court.

The accused personnel initially approached the trial court seeking to be discharged from the case, but their applications were rejected.

They then moved the Allahabad High Court, which has now upheld the trial court’s decision and refused to extend protection under Section 197 of the CrPC for the alleged conduct.

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