The Allahabad High Court has awarded ₹1.25 lakh in compensation to a man who was kept in unlawful police custody for five days before his arrest was formally shown. A Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev allowed a habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, if not required in any other case. The compensation was fixed at ₹25,000 per day of illegal detention.
Background
The petition was filed by the mother and the wife of Chandan Rajbhar, seeking his release. The wife’s mother had lodged an FIR on July 18, 2026, at Police Station Salempur, District Deoria, under Section 87 of the BNS. She alleged that Chandan had eloped with her 18-year-old daughter on July 14, 2026.
According to the petition, the couple married at a Durga temple in Siwan, Bihar, and moved to Pune. Police personnel from Salempur, accompanied by the wife’s father, took both of them into custody in Pune and brought them to the police station during the night of August 27-28, 2026. The petitioners claimed that Chandan was unlawfully detained from August 28 to September 2, 2026, when his arrest memo was prepared.
On October 9, 2026, the High Court directed the police to produce the CCTV footage of the police station for that period.
Police Inquiry Admits Illegal Detention
Advocate Awadhesh Kumar appeared for the petitioners. The CCTV footage was produced, but counsel for the State fairly submitted that there might be no need to view it, given the affidavit of the Superintendent of Police, Deoria.
He drew the Court’s attention to a report dated October 21, 2026, by the Circle Officer. The report accepted that Investigating Officer Deep Narayan Yadav had deliberately taken Chandan into custody on August 28 and kept him in illegal confinement until September 2, when his arrest was shown. It described this as a fabricated arrest and found that the IO had acted in gross dereliction of duty. The SP initiated departmental proceedings against the IO the same day.
Court’s Findings
The Court held that the police inquiry had accepted the petitioners’ case of unlawful detention. It observed that “the manner in which the I.O. has demonstrated his arrogance of authority, by detaining petitioner No.2 for full five days without even thinking twice and without following the procedure established by law, makes it appear that he considered it business as usual.”
The Bench added that “this Court expects that, if the I.O. is found guilty as charged in the departmental inquiry, the harshest punishment for his deliberate actions be considered to be imposed upon him.”
It also recorded its appreciation for the officers who disclosed the facts: “This Court appreciates the candour and honesty displayed by the Circle Officer in disclosing the true facts to this Court through his inquiry report.”
Outcome
The High Court allowed the petition and directed that Chandan be set at liberty forthwith, if not required in any other case. It awarded compensation of ₹1.25 lakh, at ₹25,000 per day for five days, and clarified that “This shall not preclude the right of petitioner No.2 to sue the Police Department in an action in tort for damages.”
The Court said the State may recover the compensation from those found guilty of the detention after an inquiry. It requested the State to record its appreciation in the service records of Circle Officer Rajesh Chaturvedi, Rudrapur, and Superintendent of Police Abhijeet R. Shankar, Deoria, for making a full and true disclosure. The Court clarified that its observations will not affect the pending criminal case.
Case Title: Gyanti Devi and 2 Others v. State of U.P. and 3 Others
Case No.: Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No. 1449 of 2026
Bench: Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev
Date: October 29, 2026
