The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to pay ₹2 lakh as compensation to a man who was illegally detained for eight days under the preventive provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), holding that the authorities flagrantly violated his personal liberty by keeping him in judicial custody without following the statutory procedure.
A Division Bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivediwas hearing a habeas corpus petition alleging that the petitioner was picked up by police from his residence on 19 March 2026 and unlawfully detained under Sections 170, 126 and 135 BNSS. According to the petition, despite repeated complaints by his family, he remained in custody until his release on 27 March 2026.
Examining the record, the Court found that although the petitioner was produced before the Assistant Commissioner of Police on the day of his detention, he was mechanically sent to jail until 27 March through a printed proforma order without recording any refusal on his part to execute a personal bond. The Court observed that if the petitioner had not furnished a bond on 19 March, the authorities ought to have granted him an opportunity on the very next day rather than incarcerating him for eight days. It held that the preventive provisions under Sections 170, 126 and 135 BNSS had been flagrantly violated, rendering the detention illegal.
The Bench expressed serious concern over the systemic misuse of preventive detention powers in the Prayagraj Commissionerate. Referring to data placed before it by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, the Court noted that hundreds of individuals had been detained for periods ranging from several days to weeks under preventive provisions, despite the law contemplating immediate release upon execution of a personal bond. It described the situation as a shocking state of affairs and observed that the magisterial powers vested in the Commissioner of Police were being misused to the hilt.
Relying on its earlier decision in Chander Pal Singh v. State of U.P., W.P. 214 of 2026 the Court reiterated that a person preventively detained should ordinarily be released on furnishing a personal bond without requiring sureties and that refusal to execute such bond must be recorded in writing and through audio-visual means before any judicial custody is ordered. It further reaffirmed that illegal detention beyond 24 hours without lawful justification would attract compensation of ₹25,000 per day, recoverable from the erring officers after disciplinary proceedings.
Applying these principles, the High Court directed the State Government to pay ₹2 lakh (?25,000 per day for eight days) to the petitioner within six weeks and recover the amount from the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bara, Prayagraj after conducting a disciplinary inquiry within three months. The Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, was also directed to file a compliance report before the Court by 14 September 2026, failing which he would have to remain personally present.
