In a recent case where a man named Pankaj Kumar Sharma was illegally detained by the Delhi police for half an hour, the Delhi High Court asked them to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to the petitioner.

As per the case, a complaint was received at a police station alleging an attack with a knife on a woman. A sub-inspector was dispatched to the scene, where he found the petitioner along with a female. The man was put in the lock-up at 11:01 pm and was let off at 11:24 pm. The petitioner claimed that he was detained without any formal arrest FIR or Daily Diary entry.

Justice Subramonium Prasad noted that the time spent in the lock-up by the petitioner, even for a short while, cannot absolve the police officers who have deprived the petitioner of his liberty without following the due procedure of law.

“This court is deeply troubled by the fact that the petitioner was not even arrested. He was simply picked up from the spot, brought to the police station and placed inside the lock-up for no rhyme or reason. The highhanded way in which the police authorities have acted, throwing to winds the constitutional and fundamental rights of a citizen, is appalling,” the order noted.

“A punishment of censure which is not likely to have any effect on the career of the police officers will not be sufficient to the officer. The censure should be of such nature that others too must not emulate such actions,” the single-bench judge said in the order.

The court said it is of the opinion that a meaningful message must be sent to the authorities that police officers cannot be law unto themselves. “Even though the illegal detention of the petitioner was only for about half an hour, this court is inclined to grant compensation of Rs 50,000 to the petitioner, which shall be recovered from the salaries of sub-inspectors Rajeev Gautam and Shamim Khan,” the order said.

Case title: Pankaj Kumar Sharma vs Govt of NCT of Delhi and Others