The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad has held the Station House Officer and Investigating Officer of Police Station Kotwali, Lalitpur guilty of contempt for wilfully disobeying repeated directions of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to produce CCTV footage in a case involving allegations of illegal detention. The Court directed that both officers be taken into custody till the rising of the Court and further ordered the State to pay ₹1 lakh compensation to the accused for unlawful detention.
Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal passed the order on February 19, 2026 while deciding the bail plea under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The prosecution alleged that the applicant, in collusion with others, opened bank accounts of loanees in Axis Bank and, after loans were sanctioned by Bajaj Finance Ltd., withdrew substantial amounts, thereby cheating the finance company. However, during the bail hearing, the focus shifted to the legality of the applicant’s arrest.
It was submitted that the applicant was taken into custody on September 14/15, 2025, but his formal arrest was shown only on September 17, 2025. His sister had approached the CJM on September 16, 2025 alleging illegal detention and seeking CCTV footage of the police station. The CJM issued notices on September 22, 30 and November 3, 2025 directing the SHO and IO to produce CCTV footage and explain non-compliance. Despite repeated orders, neither the footage was produced nor satisfactory explanations were furnished.
When directed by the High Court to appear personally with the CCTV footage, the officers stated that the storage capacity was limited to two months and the footage had been deleted. They tendered unconditional apologies but failed to provide any convincing explanation for ignoring the CJM’s orders.
The High Court held that the conduct of the officers amounted to deliberate disregard of judicial authority. Observing that judicial officers discharge sovereign functions and that defiance of their orders undermines the rule of law, the Court exercised its powers under Section 10 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and held both officers guilty of contempt. Taking a lenient view, it sentenced them to remain in custody till the rising of the Court on the same day.
The Court also examined the issue of illegal detention in the light of Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, (1997) 1 SCC416 and Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh, (2021) 1 SCC 184. It noted that CCTV footage in police stations is required to be preserved for at least six months and ideally up to 18 months, and criticised the practice of maintaining footage for only two to two-and-a-half months as contrary to Supreme Court directions.
Holding that the applicant’s detention from September 14/15 to September 17, 2025 was illegal and that arrest information was not properly communicated to family members, the Court directed the State Government to pay ₹1 lakh as compensation, with liberty to recover the amount from the responsible officers.
The Court further directed the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh to take appropriate action against erring officials and observed that Chief Judicial Magistrates may, after court hours and with prior intimation to the District Judge, conduct random inspections of police stations to verify compliance with CCTV installation and maintenance requirements.
On merits of the bail plea, considering the nature of allegations and the applicant’s undertaking to deposit ₹15 lakh with the finance company, the Court granted bail subject to conditions, including cooperation in trial and non-tampering with evidence.
A copy of the order has been directed to be sent to the Director General of Police, U.P., and all District Judges for necessary compliance.
Appearances:
Counsel for Applicant(s) : Vijit Saxena
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : Amit Shukla, G.A