In a habeas corpus writ petition filed before the Allahabad High Court for release of petitioner 2 who was allegedly illegally detained by the police, a Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev directed the petitioner to be set at liberty and granted him compensation for the period of illegal detention.
A complaint was filed by petitioner 3’s mother (respondent 4) on 18-07-2026, which was registered as an FIR under Section 87 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) alleging that on 14-07-2026 at about 7 AM, petitioner 2 eloped with her 18-year-old daughter. After the couple got married, they shifted to Pune. Thereafter, on the intervening night of 24-08-2026 and 25-08-2026, the police personnel, accompanied by the wife’s father, took the couple into custody.
It was alleged that at the time of arrest, the police had taken away the mobile phones of the couple. However, the wife had managed to send a text to her brother-in-law, who then informed his mother about the couple’s arrest. On 28-08-2026, the husband’s mother remained seated in the police station for the entire day. The husband contended that he was kept under unlawful detention from 28-08-2026 to 02-09-20206 and that his arrest memo was subsequently prepared on 02-09-2026.
By an order dated 09-10-2026, the Court had directed the police to produce CCTV recordings for the relevant dates. However, the State drew the Court’s attention to a report dated 21-10-2026 by the Circle Officer, which was forwarded to the SP, Deoria, wherein there was a categorical acceptance that the IO had deliberately taken the husband into custody and kept him in illegal confinement till 02-09-2026, when his formal arrest was shown. It was also noted that after the said report, the SP passed an order on 21-10-2026initiating departmental proceedings against the IO.
Appreciating the candour and honesty by the Circle Officer, the Court allowed the petition and directed the husband to be set at liberty, if not required in any other case. Further, the Court expressed it expectation that if the IO is found guilty as charged in the departmental inquiry, the harshest punishment be imposed upon him for his deliberate actions.
Regarding compensation, the Court granted Rs. 25,000/- per day to the husband, amounting to Rs. 1,25,000/- and held that this would not preclude his right to sue the police department in an action in tort for damages. The Court requested the State to enter the Court’s appreciation for the Circle Officer and the SP in their respective service records. Lastly, the Court directed the compensation granted to the husband to be recovered from the ones found guilty of detaining him.
Thus, the petition was disposed of.
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