Illegal arrest by Whitefield police: Karnataka HC pulls up DCP, orders disciplinary action
The Karnataka High Court on Saturday summoned Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield division) Saidulu Adavath and took serious note of another instance of illegal detention by the Whitefield police. Justice M. Nagaprasanna directed the Director-General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) to issue guidelines making it clear that illegal arrest or detention would attract disciplinary proceedings against officers, irrespective of their rank, apart from exemplary costs in cases brought to the court's notice.
The order was issued on a petition filed by Mohan Gowda of Hindu Rashtra Samanvaya Samithi. The Whitefield police had suo motu registered a case against him for publishing a Facebook post celebrating the cancellation of a show by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, terming it 'a victory for Hindu unity'. The police claimed the post could create disharmony, though no complaint had been filed.
The court observed that the FIR was registered on August 4 at 2 a.m. The next day, two sub-inspectors and two constables travelled to Udupi, where the petitioner had gone, and brought him back to Whitefield in his own car. Notably, a few yards away from the police station, he was served a notice dated August 5/6 under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which granted him three days to appear before the police for questioning. By that time, he was already in their custody, making the notice a blatant violation of the law.
The High Court pointed out that the police had taken suo motu cognizance of the post without any complaint, 'imagining disharmony overnight'. This action, the court said, was contrary to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Nalla Balu case, which laid down guidelines for registering FIRs based on social media posts.
During the hearing, Justice Nagaprasanna orally told the DCP, 'You can't take the liberty of citizens for granted just because you are in a uniform.' The DCP had no convincing answer to the court's questions. When he claimed that the petitioner voluntarily came to the Whitefield police station in his personal car, the petitioner's advocate countered that Gowda was told to face consequences. The two sub-inspectors and two constables also travelled in the same car.
The DCP further argued that the petitioner was 'not receiving calls', justifying the police team's visit to Udupi. However, the court noted that the notice itself had given Gowda three days to appear, rendering the argument untenable.
This is not the first such instance involving the same officials. On August 27, the court had imposed a cost of ₹3 lakh on the DCP, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Whitefield division), and the Investigation Officer of Whitefield Police Station for illegally arresting a man in a criminal case arising from a civil dispute. Saturday's directive to the DG&IGP is aimed at preventing such violations across the state and ensuring accountability among all ranks.
